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O-type blood can be transfused safely into humans of any blood type without medical risk.
The problem is that it is not always readily available for those who desperately need blood.
An international team of scientists now believes it has found a way to convert A, B and AB blood types into O-type, making it safe to use in transfusions.
The process promises not only to increase the stock of blood available for transfusions but could also prevent the accidental transfusion of the wrong blood group into patients.
Blood types are based on the type of a molecule, called agglutinogen, found on the surface of red blood cells. Types A, B, or AB can clump together if mixed, but type O does not react with other types.
More than two decades ago, researchers began testing the concept of removing the surface proteins on red blood cells to create universal blood cells, according to the report in the April 1 online issue of Nature Biotechnology.
In 2000, findings from a trial showed that type B red blood cells could be converted into type O cells, which then survive normally when given to type A and O individuals. However, the usefulness of this approach was limited by the large amount of enzymes required for the conversion.
In the present study, Dr Henrik Clausen and colleagues from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark describe two previously unknown enzymes, small amounts of which are capable of efficiently removing the A and B agglutinogen.
"The enzymatic conversion processes we describe hold promise for achieving the goal of producing universal red blood cells, which would improve the blood supply while enhancing the safety of clinical transfusions," Dr Clausen and his team concluded.
-BBC/Reuters
