ITW Dr Ari Gargir - Founder-CEO RedC Biotech
What If We Could Have An Unlimited Source of Universal Red Blood Cells?
Why is the blood transfusion logistic in a permanent deficit state of stocks (that implies asking continuously for blood from donors)?
- Blood donation is based on the goodwill of individuals. Of course, all healthy persons can donate blood. They are even encouraged to do so, but it is not mandatory.
- The logistics go from calling out people to donate their blood to its storage and then mobilisation for transfusion requires costly resources that developing countries can barely afford. Even in developed countries, there is inequality between well-served metropoles and small cities or villages.
- Blood can not be stored forever because it can not be frozen (-80°C). It is stored at between 2.0°C and 6.0°C for only 35 to 45 days.
- The blood transfusion chain is therefore a just-in-time manufacturing-like process.
- A donor blood could be infected by known or unknown pathogens (virus, bacterias ...). In "normal" situtation when the blood transfusion is done with stocks, the blood are now very well tested. But in extreme situation (massive natural disaster, terrorist attacks ...), we can call out people to donate their blood to supply in the emergency. In extreme situations, infectious risks and even immunological risks (mistyping blood type) associated with blood transfusion could potentially be higher due to factors such as rushed screening processes or lack of adequate resources.
- The different types of blood red cells make blood transfusion a complex matter. There are as many differences between two red blood cells from two different people as there are differences between their faces. There are blood group antigens other than those of the ABO and Rhesus systems present on the red blood cell. The ABO system is far from being the only one. Among the many molecular structures identified to date are the large Rhesus and Kell families. The basic blood group antigens, which are useful for reducing the risk of immunisation in the event of transfusion, are fairly limited; only the most visible, most frequent and most important antigens are systematically evaluated: these are the ABO, Rhesus (+/-) and Kell antigens.
There are universal donors and there are universal receivers. And some people are in between.
A universal donor (O-) can donate his/her blood to anyone. A universal donor can only receive blood from another universal donor (O-).
[ O means lack of antigne A and B on red cell surface, and - means lack of the Rhesus antigen on the red cell. + means there is the Rhesus antigen on the surface of red cells. ]
A universal receiver (AB+) can receive from anyone, but his/her blood is toxic for the other types (A+, A-, B+, B-, AB-, O+, O-). He/she can only donate his/her blood to people of the same type AB+.
The Ideal Solution
RedC Biotech, a pioneering company founded in 2015, is set to revolutionize the medical industry and save millions of lives with its cutting-edge innovation. With an exclusive partnership with Technion, they are on a mission to bring to market an unlimited source of universal blood red cells, derived from human stem cells.
Backed by over 50 patents originating from the prestigious Technion, RedC Biotech's innovative process promises to fulfil the unmet need for red blood cell transfusions and eliminate the shortage that claims the lives of over 2 million people annually. This is a significant step toward eradicating the challenges faced by traditional human donor red blood cell transfusions.
RedC Biotech envisions a future where donor-free, universal red blood cells are produced at an industrial scale, addressing the pressing global market demand that surpasses a staggering $50 billion.
Dr Ari Gargir is the Founder and CEO of RedC Biotech, developing an industrial process for production of life saving universal red blood cells. For over 20 years, Ari led R&D and product development teams in various global and startup companies in the areas of biomedical research tools, pharmaceutical development and diagnostics. Ari Gargir holds a PhD in Microbiology from the Tel Aviv University and is an alumnus of the International Space University.