An Overview of Current Position on Cell Therapy in Transfusion Science and Medicine: From Fictional Promises to Factual and Perspectives from Red Cell Substitution to Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cell therapy is a relatively novel field of investigation, in which either differentiated cells or stem cells capable of differentiation are transplanted into an individual with the objective of yielding specific cell types in the damaged tissue and consequently restoring its function. The most successful example of cell therapy is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, leading to regeneration of a patient's blood cells, now a widely established procedure for many oncologic and non–oncologic diseases. Innovative cell-based therapies are being developed to replace, regenerate or repair injured, absent, or diseased tissues and organs. However, cell therapy bioproducts are based on their inherent biological features such as proliferation, migratory, capability, plasticity, and capacity of self-renewal, posing serious challenges during such bioproduct development. The extraordinary promise of stem cells for future treatments of otherwise intractable diseases has raised great hope and expectations in patients, advocates, physicians, and researchers alike. However, despite thousands of scientific publications and research programs, increased efforts need to be put into the identification of the factors involved, biological mechanisms and materials that affect safety/ efficacy, and into the design of cost-effective methods for the harvesting, expansion, manipulation and purification of the cells.