Scientists at the University of Cambridge have successfully grown embryo-like structures in the lab that produced human blood cells — a significant advance that could transform regenerative medicine.
The discovery, made by researchers at the Gurdon Institute, raises the prospect of creating blood stem cells from a patient’s own tissues, potentially replacing the need for bone marrow donors.
“It was an exciting moment when the blood-red colour appeared in the dish – it was visible even to the naked eye,” said Dr Jitesh Neupane, the study’s lead author. The model, made from human stem cells, mimics natural embryo development and sheds light on how blood and heart cells form in the early weeks of pregnancy.
Unlike other lab techniques, the process did not require added growth proteins — the structures self-organised into key cell types, including beating heart cells by day 8 and red blood patches by day 13.
Prof Azim Surani, senior author of the study, said the ability to grow human blood cells in this way “marks a significant step towards future regenerative therapies”, which could use patients’ own cells to repair damaged tissues.
Crucially, the models were designed to exclude the tissues that would form the placenta or brain, meaning they had no potential to develop into a foetus.
