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JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas  –   Imagine in a future conflict a medic encountering a wounded warfighter on a battlefield, far forward of any base that could have whole blood.  The medic quickly realizes the warrior has lost a lot of blood and will die soon without immediate intervention.  They normally would infuse a sterile fluid to increase the volume of blood circulating in the body to ensure the few remaining oxygen carrying red blood cells are distributed, but instead they break the seal of a bag that allows sterile water to rehydrate and reanimate freeze-dried red blood cells, allowing the medic to rapidly infuse additional red blood cells, restoring the flow of oxygen to vital organs, preserving the warriors life.    Such a medical capability was discussed in a one day summit held on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in San Antonio, TX, led from subject matter experts from 59 MDW/ST, USAISR, and NAMRU-SA who were supported by researchers, developers, end users such as SOCOM, Armed Services Blood Bank, Joint Trauma System, as well as several companies and universities who lead R&D efforts that have demonstrated the ability to successfully freeze dry, store at room temperatures, and rapidly reconstitute viable, oxygen carrying red blood cells.    In addition to reviewing the state of the science for freeze-drying red blood cells, this coalition of military, industry, and academic partners also considered the […]