Researchers at Pitt's School of Medicine are working on a synthetic substitute for human blood.
Three of the university's doctors are part of a national team currently in the development stages of the project.
UPMC surgeon Doctor Matthew Neal says the ultimate goal is to create a dry, shelf-stable substance that can be easily reconstituted and used to replace blood in trauma patients.
More than 46 million dollars in funding is going into the research initiative and the blood could be available in six years.