Researchers have found a way to grow more blood cells from donated blood that could be used to supplement traditional supplies.

A woman with sickle cell disease said the possibility of lab-grown blood has given her "hope" for the future. The aim of the new research is to help those with ultra-rare blood groups who need regular transfusions.

For the first time ever, blood grown in a lab from adult stem cells was transfused into two people. The trial will be expanded to include 10 participants, with scientists comparing the lab-grown blood’s longevity to that of a traditional transfusion.

Volunteers have received a blood transfusion of laboratory-grown red blood cells in a world-first clinical trial in the UK.

Laboratory grown red blood cells have been transfused into volunteers in a world first clinical trial that could help revolutionise treatments for patients with sickle cell disease and thalassemia.

Transfusions using laboratory-grown blood are being tested in British patients for the first time, in a study that doctors hope could improve treatment for patients who need regular donations.

Last year, researchers began a pioneering clinical trial, and more are on the way, bringing us closer to a world where blood factories augment supplies.

Scientists around the world are in a battle to develop the tastiest artificial beef, pork, coffee and milk. But in Cambridge an academic is trying to reproduce a product even more vital: blood.

After decades of research, clinical trials of artificially made blood are getting under way, offering hope of a backup to human donors.

Scientists have made a significant leap towards mass producing platelets – the part of the blood that forms clots.