For the first time, researchers have managed to change the blood type of the kidneys of deceased people. A revolutionary discovery that could increase the number of kidneys available for organ transplants.
- Nearly 20,000 French people are waiting to receive a new kidney.
- In France, between 3,500 and 3,700 kidney transplants are performed each year.
This advance could have an impact on the care of patients affected by kidney problems. In a statementscientists from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have announced that they have succeeded in modifying the blood type of three kidneys from dead donors to make them O universal.
The enzyme acts like “molecular scissors”
For the purposes of this trial, the British researchers used a normothermic infusion machine, namely a device that connects to the kidney of a human being to pass oxygenated blood through the organ in order to better preserve it for a future use. The team used this machine to pass blood infused with an enzyme through the kidneys of deceased adults.
According to the scientists, the enzyme acted like “molecular scissors” to remove blood type markers that line the kidney’s blood vessels. This method enabled the organ to be converted into a blood group O kidney within hours. “Our confidence was really boosted after applying the enzyme to a piece of human kidney tissue and seeing very quickly that the antigens were cleared,” said Serena MacMillan, who conducted the trial.
An impact on patients from ethnic minorities
As a reminder, the kidney of a person with blood group A cannot be transplanted into a person with blood group B, nor vice versa. But by changing the blood type to type O, which is the universal type, more transplants can be done, because type O can be used for people of any blood type. “It’s very exciting to think about the impact this could have on so many lives”said Serena MacMillan.
According to the team, this discovery could have a particular impact on people from ethnic minorities, who often wait a year longer than other patients to receive a transplant. “In 2020 and 2021, just over 9% of total organ donations came from black or minority ethnic donors, while black or minority ethnic patients make up 33% of the waiting list for a kidney transplantation,” the researchers explained.
Now they have to observe how the kidney, whose blood type has been changed, will react to the patient’s usual blood type. “We now need to examine whether our methods can be effective in a clinical setting and ultimately be applied to transplantation”, said Mike Nicholson, who co-directed the trial. The full results of their study are expected to be published in the British Journal of Surgery in the coming months.
