by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute –
Melbourne researchers have made a world first breakthrough into creating blood stem cells that closely resemble those in the human body. And the discovery could soon lead to personalised treatments for children with leukaemia and bone marrow failure disorders.
The research, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and published in Nature Biotechnology, has overcome a major hurdle for producing human blood stem cells, which can create red cells, white blood cells and platelets, that closely match those in the human embryo.
MCRI Associate Professor Elizabeth Ng said the team had made a significant discovery in human blood stem cell development, paving the way for these lab grown cells to be used in blood stem cell and bone marrow transplants.
