Researchers change blood type of kidney in transplant breakthrough

Researchers have successfully altered the blood type of three donor kidneys in a game changing discovery that could greatly improve the chances of patients waiting for a transplant finding a match.

Minority ethnic groups who are less likely to find a match for a transplant may benefit from the development.

A person with blood type A can't be given a transplant of a person with blood type B.

Changing the blood type to the universal O would allow more transplants as this can be used for anyone with any blood type.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge used a machine called a normothermic perfusion machine to flush blood from a dead donor's kidneys.

The organ was converted to type O due to the removal of the blood type markers.

Serena MacMillan, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, said: "Our confidence was really boosted after we applied the enzyme to a piece of human kidneys tissue and saw that the antigens were removed very quickly."

We had to scale up the project because we knew the process was doable after this.

We were able to convert a B-type human kidneys into an O type in just a few hours.

It is very exciting to think about how this could affect so many people.

People from minority ethnic groups often wait a year longer for a transplant than whites, and so the study could have particular implications for them.

People from minority communities are more likely to have type B blood, which means there isn't enough to go around.

Black and minority ethnic donors made up 9% of total organ donations in the UK in 2020-21, while black and minority ethnic patients made up 32% of the waiting list for a transplant.

The researchers need to know how the new O-type kidneys will respond to a patient's usual blood type.

The machine allows them to do this before testing in people, as they can take the kidneys that have been changed to type O, and introduce different blood types.

Prof Mike Nicholson is a professor of transplant surgery at the University of Cambridge.

There are markers on your cells that can be either A or B.

The ones you don't have will cause your body to produce antibodies.

Ethnic minority groups are more likely to have the rarer B type of blood.

The research that Mike and Serena are doing is potentially gamechanging.

The team will look at how to use the approach in a clinical setting after testing the reintroduced blood types.

The research will be published in the British Journal of Surgery later this year.