Tech

The US military’s race to make fake blood

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Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 14/10/2026, 12:21:24 UTC.

Briefings

A DARPA program called RAPIID aims to create shelf-stable blood components to address a chronic shortage in the US military. The incident described involves the 2007 helicopter 'Morphine 1-2' which crashed during a daylight mission to evacuate wounded soldiers, killing all seven crew members. This event highlighted the critical need for rapid blood replacement, as a JAMA study indicates only 1% of trauma patients receive blood before reaching a hospital, with a 36-minute survival window for hemorrhage. The program focuses on synthesizing plasma, platelets, and red blood cells into freeze-dried forms to extend shelf life and combat battlefield shortages.

Key points

• The DARPA program RAPIID aims to synthesize plasma, platelets, and red blood cells into shelf-stable forms to address a chronic shortage in the US military.
• In February 2007, the helicopter 'Morphine 1-2' crashed during a daylight mission to evacuate wounded soldiers, killing all seven crew members due to a missile attack.

Context and limitations

Evidence covers only the 2007 helicopter crash and the subsequent DARPA program context. It does not include data on current RAPIID trial results, specific deployment timelines beyond 2029, or details on civilian blood drive effectiveness.

Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 15/10/2026, 06:40:47 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.

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