Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a new laboratory method to produce human blood cells using stem cells. This technique replicates some early stages of human embryonic development and may help scientists better understand blood formation, simulate blood disorders such as leukaemia, and create blood stem cells for transplants.
The research team used human stem cells to generate three-dimensional structures called ‘hematoids’. These hematoids self-organize and begin producing blood after about two weeks in the lab, similar to the process that occurs in natural embryos. Hematoids differ from real embryos as they lack certain tissues required for full development, including the yolk sac and placenta.
Blood stem cells, or hematopoietic stem cells, can develop into any type of blood cell, including red and white blood cells essential for carrying oxygen and immune function. The ability to derive hematoids from any body cell suggests future applications in personalized medicine by enabling production of patient-specific compatible blood.
Existing methods for generating human blood stem cells typically require additional proteins to support growth. In contrast, this new approach uses a self-organizing model that relies on the intrinsic environment provided by embryo-like structures. This supports both blood cell and beating heart cell formation within the same system.
Dr Jitesh Neupane, joint first author of the study at the University of Cambridge’s Gurdon Institute, said: “It was an exciting moment when the blood red colour appeared in the dish – it was visible even to the naked eye.”
He added: “Our new model mimics human foetal blood development in the lab. This sheds light on how blood cells naturally form during human embryogenesis, offering potential medical advances to screen drugs, study early blood and immune development, and model blood disorders like leukaemia.”
Professor Azim Surani, senior author from the Gurdon Institute, commented: “This model offers a powerful new way to study blood development in the early human embryo. Although it is still in the early stages, the ability to produce human blood cells in the lab marks a significant step towards future regenerative therapies - which use a patient’s own cells to repair and regenerate damaged tissues.”
Dr Geraldine Jowett, co-first author at Cambridge’s Gurdon Institute stated: “Hematoids capture the second wave of blood development that can give rise to specialised immune cells or adaptive lymphoid cells, like T cells, opening up exciting avenues for their use in modelling healthy and cancerous blood development.”
The team observed under a microscope that by day two hematoids formed three germ layers—the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm—crucial foundations for all organs and tissues including those related to forming blood. By day eight beating heart cells appeared; by day thirteen red patches indicating developing blood were visible. They demonstrated that these structures could differentiate into various types of specialized immune cells such as T-cells.
These models allow researchers to investigate developmental stages corresponding roughly with week four or five post-fertilization—a period not directly observable within actual embryos due to implantation inside the womb at this stage.
All research involving these models is subject to ethical oversight; this project received appropriate approvals before proceeding. The findings are published in Cell Reports (Neupane et al., October 2025).
The work has been patented through Cambridge Enterprise—the university's innovation arm—and funded mainly by Wellcome.