Changing kidney blood type may boost transplantson August 15, 2022 at 4:46 am

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Many BAME patients waiting for a donor kidney are blood type B so development could be ‘game-changer’.

A surgeon wearing glasses and a face mask is seen looking down while performing an operationImage source, Getty Images

Researchers have successfully altered the blood type of donor kidneys in a discovery that could increase the supply of the organs for transplant.

The breakthrough has particular implications for minority groups, who often find it harder to find a match.

A kidney from someone with blood type A cannot be given to someone with type B, and vice versa.

But changing the blood type of a kidney to the universal type O will mean it can be transplanted into any patient.

People from black and other ethnic minority groups often have to wait a year longer for a transplant than white patients because they are more likely to have the rarer B-type blood group.

Rates of organ donation among those populations is also lower. In 2020/21, just over 9% of total organ donations came from black and other minority ethnic donors, while people from those communities make up 33% of the kidney transplant waiting list.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge were able to use a normothermic perfusion machine – a device used to pass oxygenated blood through a kidney to help preserve it – to flush blood infused with an enzyme through a donor kidney.

The enzyme removes the blood-type markers that line the blood vessels of the organ, effectively changing its blood type to type O. The process took a matter of hours when it was successfully performed on three donor kidneys.

Serena MacMillan, a PhD student who worked on the study, said it was “very exciting to think about how this could potentially impact so many lives”.

The next step is to see how the kidneys react when given a normal supply of blood from their new blood group, something which can again be tested using a machine before the kidney is transplanted into a patient.

The research, which is funded by charity Kidney Research UK, is due to be published in the British Journal of Surgery in the coming months.

Dr Aisling McMahon, executive director of research at the charity, called the work “potentially game-changing”.

- Advertisement -

Discover

Sponsor

Latest

Autumn Statement: BBC experts on six things you need to knowon November 18, 2022 at 10:41 am

BBC correspondents on how the new economic plan will affect your household budget.BBC correspondents on how the new economic plan will affect your household...

Information About Business Administration Degrees

A business administration degree is typically the next step after a bachelor's degree. The BBA is the same as the business degree, but it...

Gabon coup leader Brice Nguema vows free elections – but no dateon September 4, 2023 at 3:05 pm

General Brice Nguema, who toppled long-time leader Ali Bongo, has officially become Gabon's interim leader.General Brice Nguema, who toppled long-time leader Ali Bongo, has...

Just Stop Oil: Five arrested after protesters disrupt Les Miserableson October 4, 2023 at 11:05 pm

The evening performance, in London's West End, was halted and did not resume.Image source, Just Stop OilBy Sam HancockBBC NewsFive people have been arrested...

Energy bills could rise by hundreds of poundson October 7, 2021 at 6:40 am

Consumers should be prepared for volatile gas prices and more suppliers collapsing, analysts say.