Recombinant haemoglobin in the development of red-blood-cell substitutes.

Increasing concern over viral contamination of blood is spurring the development of a blood substitute which can effectively replace the oxygen-carrying capabilities of transfused erythrocytes. Solutions of chemically modified haemoglobin represent one option being evaluated for this role. More recently, recombinant-DNA techniques have enabled production of human haemoglobin in host expression systems, and progress is being made towards the creation of a genetically engineered molecule incorporating the properties required of a blood substitute.