DR Kashif Baloch

28/10/2025

28/10/2025

What is happening?

28/10/2025

interpretation please?

28/10/2025

What is the diagnosis?

28/10/2025

Types of paralysis

28/10/2025

In a groundbreaking advance, scientists at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have successfully changed the blood type of a donated human kidney for the first time. This experiment represents a major step toward creating universal donor organs that could be transplanted into any recipient, regardless of blood type compatibility.

Researchers achieved this by using lab-grown enzymes that remove the specific sugar molecules—called antigens—that determine blood type on the surface of red blood cells and organ tissues. In this case, the team used enzymes to strip away A antigens from a Type-A kidney, effectively converting it into Type-O, the universal blood type.

This modification is significant because blood type mismatches are a major cause of organ rejection in transplant recipients. A universal organ could drastically reduce waiting times for patients and improve transplant success rates worldwide. During testing, the altered kidney was connected to a simulated blood flow using Type-O blood, and the organ showed no signs of immune reaction for two days. Even when a mild reaction later occurred, the kidney remained much more stable than in traditional mismatched transplants.

Over half of people on kidney transplant waiting lists are Type-O, meaning they can only receive organs from Type-O donors. If further clinical trials confirm safety and long-term success, this technique could revolutionize organ transplantation—potentially allowing doctors to prepare universal organs ready for any patient, anywhere.

Source:
University of British Columbia, Nature Biomedical Engineering (2025).
“Donor organ’s blood type altered for the first time.”