A COVENTRY based life sciences is set to combat blood shortages in hospitals and the battle field.
CryoLogyx is based at the University of Warwick Science Park’s Venture Centre and is developing the technology after and an expansion.
The company was founded in 2021 and has patented technology which preserves living cells when thawed after being frozen.
It is looking to develop a similar shield which protects blood cells in the thawing process, enabling high quality blood to be accessed more easily in a crisis.
Dr Tom Congdon, co-founder of CryoLogyx, said: “When blood transfusions are needed by doctors to treat patients, they have a couple of options at present.
“They can either source fresh blood, which is of high quality but has a very short shelf-life, or thaw out frozen blood, which can be stockpiled but is of poorer quality due to the thawing process damaging the delicate blood cells.
“Our shield preserves the blood cells during thawing, meaning the blood will be of far higher quality and is more likely to result in positive outcomes for patients.
“If our research comes to fruition, we believe it will have far-reaching consequences both in civilian and military contexts.
“For example, doctors could more reliably store rarer blood types in freezers, and extract them when needed instead of having to rely on a constant supply of fresh blood from donors, which can lead to shortages.
“In addition, field hospitals in conflict zones would be able to extract high quality blood more quickly to treat soldiers more effectively. “Around 90 per cent of military casualties are due to blood loss,meaning having reliable sources of blood available could mean the difference between life and death.”
Jane Talbot, centre manager at the Venture Centre, said: “Ensuring our life science tenants have the best possible lab space for their research is incredibly important to us, so when CryoLogyx wanted to expand, we made it as smooth as possible for them.
“It’s brilliant to hear how well their research is going as a result, and we’re proud to be playing our part by facilitating their work.”
