Breakthrough new research could significantly increase supply of organs for people with rarer blood types waiting for a transplant, reported The Guardian.,A team of scientists from the University of Cambridge have successfully altered the blood type of three donor kidneys. By flushing blood infused with a special enzyme through a human kidney the scientists removed the blood type markers lining the blood vessels of the organ.,The procedure required using a device that is connected with a donor’s kidney to pass oxygenated blood through it - a normothermic perfusion machine. As a result, the organ was converted to type O, considered the universal donor.,Blood Group Compatible,As the blood type of a donor must be compatible with the recipient’s, the new development could increase the supply of kidneys available for transplant.,A kidney from someone with blood type A cannot be transplanted to someone with blood type B, or visa versa. In such a case, the receiving body’s immune system would reject the new organ, interpreting the different blood type as foreign.,So changing the blood type to the universal O would mean the donor organ could be used for people with any blood type.,“Our confidence was really boosted after we applied the enzyme to a piece of human kidney tissue and saw very quickly that the antigens were removed. After this, we knew that the process is feasible, and we just had to scale up the project to apply the enzyme to full-size human kidneys,” Serena MacMillan, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, said.,Scientists involved in the research, funded by charity Kidney Research UK and due to be published in the British Journal of Surgery, clarified that the outcome might have particular implications for minority ethnic groups.,Science & TechGood News for ABs: Scientists Can Now Change People's Blood Type21 February, 16:34 GMT,Some blood groups such as O Rh positive and B Rh positive are more prevalent among black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. To complicate matters further, some rare blood types are only found within the black, Asian and minority ethnic communities,This typically places them at a disadvantage, as they struggle to find a match. With low donation rates from these populations, stressed the researchers, sometimes such patients wait for as long as over a year for a compatible donor. They cited figures from 2020-21 showing that just over 9% of total organ donations in the UK came from black and minority ethnic donors. On the other hand, black and minority ethnic patients make up 33% of the kidney transplant waiting list.,“It’s very exciting to think about how this could potentially impact so many lives,” added Serena MacMillan.,The “potentially gamechanging” research was applauded by Dr Aisling McMahon, the executive director of research at Kidney Research UK.,The scientists will now test the reintroduction of other blood types and observe how the novel approach in clinical settings.

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