Disclosed herein are methods for producing red blood cells (RBCs) from a population of stem cells and/or progenitor cells. In at least one of the stem cells or progenitor cells, SH2B3 protein activity is decreased, SH2B3 mRNA level is decreased, and/or SH2B3 protein level is decreased. The methods provided herein permit the production of RBCs with increased quantity and/or quality as compared to a method using the same population of stem cells and/or progenitor cells without SH2B3 inhibition or disruption. Also provided herein are methods of use of the RBCs produced using the methods described herein.
