On Nov. 7, 2022, the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) reported that red blood cells grown in a laboratory had been transfused into another person in a world first clinical trial. The manufactured blood cells were grown from stem cells from donors. The red cells were then transfused into volunteers in the RESTORE randomised controlled clinical trial.

The RESTORE trial is a joint research initiative by NHSBT and University of Bristol, working with the University of Cambridge, Guy’s and St Thomasﾒ NHS Foundation Trust, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Cambridge Clinical Research Facility, and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It as part-funded by a NIHR grant.