Progress towards development of a platelet transfusion product employing iPS cells.

Platelet transfusion is indispensable for current medical treatments of hematological disorders. However, alternative platelet sources are urgently needed due to the inadequate donor blood supply, particularly of HLA/HPA-matched platelets. The advent of 'iPS cell (iPSC) technology' was considered in light of this problem, which yielded the idea of iPSC-derived platelet production. The safety of iPSC-derived cell therapy is critical, but platelets can be gamma-irradiated prior to their use. Thus, there is an advantage in terms of clinical application. The remaining developmental aim of the in vitro iPSC-derived platelet generation process is to further scale up industrialized culture and production for the packaging of washed-type platelet concentrates, and a laboratory scale production system has already been optimized in preparation for meeting this goal.