Blood is heavy, difficult to store, has a short shelf-life and can transmit infections, including life-threatening ones like hepatitis and HIV.
A team led by Dr Lance Twyman from Sheffield University is close to cracking a problem that medical science has struggled with for decades - developing a synthetic blood substitute that can be used in place of blood transfusions.
Intended for emergency situations - like disaster relief or on the battlefield - the artificial blood is light, does not need to be kept cool and lasts for longer. It's made from plastic molecules that have an iron atom at their core, like haemoglobin, to carry oxygen through the body. It can be stored as a thick paste and then simply watered down for use when required.
Five years into the project, the team is now seeking funding to develop a final prototype before it goes into biological testing.
The results will be literally life-saving.