University of Maryland School of Medicine physician-scientist to lead high-budget research project to develop artificial blood

Despite historic advancements in blood transfusion technology, an estimated 20,000 Americans bleed to death every year before they can be brought to the hospital, according to Dr. Allan Doctor, director of the Center for Blood Oxygen Transport and Hemostasis at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “There’s some limited ability to give transfusions in helicopters on the way into the hospital,” said Doctor, a pediatrics professor at the Baltimore-based medical school, “but for routine ambulance runs, all you can do is just drive fast.”