Every day in Spain around 6,000 blood transfusions are performed for different reasons. Sometimes, they are performed in an emergency situation (accidents or emergency operations) and other times they are transfusions of blood which are programmed as a consequence of some treatment, as is the case of cancer. Whatever the reason, blood transfusions are one of the most frequent hospital procedures . For these transfusions, any type of blood is well come, but the advance of which we are going to speak today is, without a doubt, a revolution in this field. Scientists have managed to turn any type of blood into universal blood!
Are any blood types the same?
As we say, any type of blood is welcome, but the process is not as simple as it seems. Each and every one of the blood units that are extracted from donors are subjected to a series of tests to check if they are suitable and will not transmit any infectious disease to the patient. With these tests the blood group is also determined.
This process is very important, since we have to take into account that our immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from invading cells . Depending on the type of blood you have, your immune system will make antibodies that will react against the other blood types. Hence the importance of knowing your blood type.
What types of blood are there?
There are 4 main blood groups; type A, type B, type AB and type 0 . In addition to this classification, the blood may or may not have another added marker called Rh factor. The scientists, depending on whether or not this marker is present, differentiate the blood into "positive" (with Rh factor) or "negative" (without Rh factor). The combination of all these markers results in 8 different blood types; 0 negative, 0 positive, A negative, A positive, B negative, B positive, AB negative, AB positive.
Considering all these types of blood, the news that they have discovered the way to turn any type of blood into universal, is fabulous!
It was the researchers at British Columbia University who found a way to convert any type of blood into a universal one that could be used with any patient.
The results of his research were presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society and said the following:
The difference between the types of blood, lies in the sugars on the surface of the red blood cells that the body creates . Type A has one kind of sugars and type B has different ones. In the same way, type AB has both types of sugars and type 0 does not have sugars.
The problem comes if a person receives a blood transfusion of a blood type that is not yours; your immune system will attack and kill the donated blood cells.
People with blood group 0 are known as universal donors since their blood type does not contain sugars and therefore anyone can receive it because it will not create rejection.
The discovery
A few years ago it was discovered that certain enzymes could eliminate sugars from blood cells of any blood type and turn it into Type 0, which, as we have said, is universal. The problem was its high cost and, as noted by researcher Stephen Withers in a press release, had not yet been discovered an enzyme that was efficient, safe and economical. Their search for that enzyme took them to the human intestine.
Withers and his team already knew that the lining of the digestive tract contained the same sugars found in blood cells , and that the bacterial enzymes within the human faeces eliminated those sugars from the coating to favor digestion.
Knowing this, the researchers were able to isolate an enzyme that removes sugars from blood types A and B, and transforms them into Type O. This enzyme turned out to be 30 times more efficient than any enzyme previously discovered.
This finding still needs to be tested in a clinical setting, in order to determine if this process of blood type conversion can produce some unforeseen and unintended consequences. All these checks will still take some time although Withers is quite optimistic and is convinced that the enzyme discovered by his team could be a great medical breakthrough and would end the great problem that exists today and is the optimal blood shortage for any blood type.
What do you think of this great discovery? Do you think it can be a before and after in terms of surgical interventions? Tell us your opinion! We are happy to read you!