blood substitute, substance that mimics the function of blood. Blood substitutes typically concentrate only on reproducing the function of hemoglobin, the molecule that carries oxygen through the body, and do not attempt to replicate the blood's other functions. Blood donated by humans must be refrigerated, can be contaminated by such diseases as AIDS and hepatitis, and is often in short supply. Designers of blood substitutes hope to eliminate these problems and develop genetically engineered or chemical products that will be tolerated by people of all blood types. Some blood substitutes under development use hemoglobin derived from human blood that is too old for use in blood transfusions.
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