UVA Health researchers looking at ways to increase platelet production

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - New research out of the University of Virginia School of Medicine could help address the platelet shortage.

Platelets help form blood clots to slow or stop bleeding and help wounds heal.

These new findings come at a critical time when the Red Cross has said we are in the worst blood and platelet shortage in more than a decade.

“This shortage of platelets gets worse and worse with every passing year, and I think it’s going to start to impact lots of different facets of healthcare and we really need to start thinking about alternative culture based approaches,” UVA Professor of Pathology Doctor Adam Goldfarb said.

Right now, researchers are looking at methods to increase platelet production in the lab, and they say their next step is to increase the safety and efficiency of the methods before applying the study to patients.

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