ABSTRACT
Scientists have searched for more than half a century for an active product that
can substitute for human blood. The emergence of human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) and other lethal viruses into the human blood pool and the possibil
ity for future as yet unknown contaminants have increased the urgency of dis
covering a therapeutic alternative to the transfusion of blood. The complexity
of blood, however, makes it highly unlikely that a manufactured product can
totally replace all of its physiological functions. Several strategies have been
defined for developing resuscitative fluids that can substitute for the specific
life-sustaining property exclusive for blood, i.e., oxygen delivery. Two of
these approaches-perfluorocarbon emulsions and solutions of acellular hemo
globin-have advanced into Phase II clinical testing. Somatogen, Inc., has de
veloped a recombinant variant of human hemoglobin (rHbl.l,) that has been
engineered to deliver oxygen more effectively than native hemoglobin. This
paper presents an overview of the strategy and progress of this work with
Optro.
