Lifeblood. Part 1, Banking for the future.

First in a two-part series about the latest research into how white blood cells taken from transfused blood can help prevent and treat serious illnesses like cancer. In Edinburgh, a group of scientists search a blood bank for the fittest white blood cells, which they 'train' to recognise cancer cells. These cells are then hurried to Birmingham where a young girl with post-transplant cancer is seriously ill. The cells are thawed, mixed with saline and transfused into the girl's blood, where they seek out and destroy the cancer cells without damaging any other tissues. This whole process is known as 'adoptive immunotherapy.' The first programme focuses specifically on how these 'killer T cells' can best be banked. Then we follow the process of initial cell selection to the time when a withdrawal is made from a bank to be used in treatment.