Every year, more than 4.5 million people need blood transfusions in Canada and the United States. That amounts to about 36,000 RBC units per day for the US alone. Transfusions are needed for trauma response, surgery and cancer care. The medical system relies on a complex system of blood donations to meet that need. Without a sufficient, reliable supply of safe blood, the health-care system comes into jeopardy.
That’s where Shane Kilpatrick (MASc ’17, MBET ’18) and his company, Membio, is working to make a difference. The Canadian startup is developing technology to manufacture fully functioning red blood cells at an industrial scale.
