Blood preservation workshop: new and emerging trends in research and clinical practice

Preserving cell viability and function is an essential component in the translation and delivery of existing and emerging cell-based therapeutics from the research lab to the patient bedside. This workshop provided a summary of the advances and challenges that currently face the preservation sciences, together with a glimpse at the future applications and instrumentation that will enhance our ability to process, preserve, and store red blood cells (RBCs), platelets, and stem cells. It is clear from the presentations made during the workshop and the discussions that ensued after that, for us to overcome the challenges that face blood biopreservation, it will require a concerted effort from clinicians, scientists, and engineers from a variety of disciplines. Through this interdisciplinary research effort, significant progress will be made to improve the safety, quality, and potency of the blood products that are used in reparative medicine. As the need for effective preservation technologies will be the motivation for more concerted efforts in the biopreservation sciences, there are encouraging prospects for the future applications of biopreserved blood cells.