A product of OKP Biotech in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Hemopure is the only blood substitute currently approved for routine use in humans. South Africa approved its commercial sale and use in 2001. However, in “compassionate case” situations, it also has been used in humans elsewhere. It is made from bovine hemoglobin. Bovines are large mammals like cattle, bison, yak, and some antelope. Hemoglobin is the protein containing iron that is in red blood cells; it delivers oxygen to the body’s cells.

This “blood substitute” has several advantages to human blood in transfusion cases. It needs no refrigeration, can be stored for three years, is purified to remove disease-causing agents, and is suitable to treat people of all blood types. This eliminates the need to determine the patient’s blood type or to cross-match any aspect of the donor’s blood with the patient’s blood. It also has the advantage of being acceptable to those whose religious beliefs forbid taking transfusions of human blood.

Although the US Food and Drug Administration refused to grant approval for use in the United States, those findings have been challenged. In 2006, the US Navy received funding to continue research into and development of Hemopure. Oxyglobin is similar to Hemopure, and received US approval in 1998 for treating anemia in dogs. Oxycyte and Polyheme are blood substitute products that are not approved for use in the United States.

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