Scientists Create Universal Blood-Type Organs

🫁 Researchers in Toronto succeeded in converting multiple pairs of lungs from one blood type to another using a combination of different technologies, according to a new paper published last week in Science Translational Medicine.

• There are four major blood type groups: A, B, O, and AB. For any organ transplant to work, the donor needs to have a blood type that’s compatible with the recipient.
• Type O is often referred to as the ‘universal donor’, since it’s compatible with all other types.
• On the flip side, those with type O blood can only receive transplants from people with the same blood type, which can be found in ~45% of Americans.
• In this experiment, medical researchers at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute managed to turn eight type-A lungs into type-O lungs.
• "There are situations where we may get a B donor, but we don't have a B recipient," said Marcelo Cypel, a professor of surgery at the University of Toronto and lead author of the paper. "If we could use that organ in any of the patients in our waitlist, then we would always have a patient to receive that organ."

📸 The big picture: Scientists hope this technique can eventually be adapted to change the blood types of all organs, not just lungs. More than 106,000 Americans are currently waiting for an organ transplant, with average times ranging from a few months to a few years depending on the organ.