Blood Type Conversion

Daily Yomiuri has an interesting breakthrough in blood banking technology:

They say:

Enzymes that can transform red blood cells of type A, B, and AB blood to type O have been developed by an international research team, it was announced Sunday on the online edition of the magazine Nature Biotechnology.

Because type O blood can be transfused to any patient regardless of blood type, it is hoped that someday the new technology can fix the problem of blood shortages caused by a bias of blood types in blood supply.

The surface of red blood cells are covered by sugar chains resembling fine hairs. Blood types are categorized as A, B, and AB, according to the types of sugars that are connected to the end of these chains. Type O blood does not have any sugar connected to the chains

.

We say:

This could be a great breakthrough if it works as advertised. With our chronic shortage of blood, it's getting harder and harder to match patient's blood types to donated units of blood. Also, in emergent situations, such as traumas, there never is enough of blood type O, the universal donor available. This enzyme process could fix this big time.

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