The urgency of the blood supply problem was underscored by a 2007 incident in which a US casualty evacuation helicopter, call sign Morphine 1-2, was shot down during a daylight mission to deliver blood to a field hospital north of Baghdad, Iraq. All seven crew members were killed. Lieutenant Commander Robert Murray, a Navy officer and program manager at DARPA who studied the incident, said the mission was a "blood run," considered the highest priority after casualty evacuation.
Today, a global shortage of blood is fueling a race to develop synthetic alternatives. Researchers note that about 90% of preventable battlefield deaths are due to hemorrhage, or bleeding from ruptured blood vessels. A 2025 study published in the journal Transfusion found that of 1.2 million trauma patients in the United States who potentially needed blood before reaching a hospital, only 1% received it. The American College of Surgeons estimates that the shortage results in about 10,000 preventable deaths each year in the US, with the global figure likely in the millions.
One major challenge is that blood has a limited shelf life. Whole blood lasts only 35 days when refrigerated, and platelets, which help wounds clot, last a week or less. Freezing red blood cells and plasma extends their lifespan, but both spoil quickly once thawed. These limitations are especially acute in military operations and rural or remote areas known as "blood deserts."
DARPA and other military research arms are working on synthetic blood products designed to be shelf-stable, easily transported, and compatible with all blood types. The goal is to create a product that can deliver oxygen to tissues and promote clotting without the need for refrigeration or matching donor and recipient.