From Donation to Innovation: New Blood-Derived Products

Background: Recent advances in transfusion medicine are transforming donated blood into a versatile source for a new generation of therapeutic products. This narrative review summarizes emerging innovations across plasma, red blood cells, platelets, donor stem cells, and cord blood. Summary: Developments in plasma technology, including dried plasma, isoagglutinin-depleted universal plasma, and protein-derived products aim to enhance safety, stability, and clinical applicability. Red blood cell innovations focus on improved preservation, engineered or artificial oxygen carriers, extracellular vesicle-based products, and strategies for producing universal blood cells. Platelet-derived products such as platelet-rich plasma, platelet lysates, and platelet extracellular vesicles are expanding applications beyond hemostasis into regenerative medicine. Advances in donor stem cell technologies offer new pathways for scalable, donor-independent production of blood cells. Additionally, cord blood-derived red cells represent a promising new product with unique biological properties. Key message: Together, these developments illustrate a shift toward more engineered, customizable, and sustainable blood-derived therapeutics, with the potential to address clinical needs unmet by traditional transfusion components.