Researchers Change Blood Type of Kidneys for the First Time

(Photo: Robina Weermeijer/Unsplash) For someone in need of an organ transplant, blood type—their own and their potential donor’s—means everything. A simple blood type discrepancy can mean remaining on an organ waitlist for months. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking; for most patients on the list, a “new” organ could mean the difference between life and death.

Up until recently, an organ donor’s blood type was an immovable fact. If a patient’s blood type was B and the only available organ came from a type A donor, that patient was out of luck. Thanks to efforts in the UK, however, this is no longer the case. According to a report by The Guardian, researchers at the University of Cambridge have successfully changed the blood type of three donor kidneys in a startling discovery that could drastically decrease patients’ time on an organ waitlist.

The researchers’ secret sauce is an enzyme that removes blood type markers from the lining of the kidney. After testing the enzyme on isolated kidney tissue, the team applied the enzyme to whole kidneys using a normothermic perfusion machine, which preserves organs by flushing them with oxygenated blood. Removing the blood type markers essentially “reset” the kidneys to be compatible with type O blood, the most common blood type.

(Photo: National Cancer Institute)

Further research is required to ensure the altered kidneys aren’t rejected by patients’ natural blood supply. The Cambridge team will test this using the same normothermic perfusion machine they used to change the kidneys’ blood type. By introducing different blood types to the kidneys in this environment, they can monitor how the kidneys react without putting patients at risk.

Patients in need of a kidney transplant often sit on a waitlist for three to five years before receiving a donor organ, according to the National Kidney Foundation. Other organ transplants, like a bilateral lung transplant, require patients to wait even longer. The consequences of such a long waitlist range from inconvenient and costly meantime medical procedures to death. In fact, as many as 17 Americans die each day from the lack of available transplant organs.

Multiple attempts have been made to rectify this shortage in recent months. Earlier this year, scientists transplanted a genetically modified pig heart into a patient with terminal heart disease. Though the experiment ultimately failed, it yielded priceless insights that might help researchers perfect their strategy in the long term. Similarly, a team of scientists at Yale University used a unique chemical concoction called OrganEx to revive deceased porcine tissue. If OrganEx works in future experiments, it may help supplement the transplant organ supply or heal vital tissues to prevent transplant necessity altogether.

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