By Altering the Blood Type of Lungs, Researchers Raise the Possibility of Universal Organs for Transplants

February 16, 2022

(STAT News) – Ostrander was in the same bind as many people awaiting transplants. Her blood type, B positive, wasn’t a match for many donor organs, and a mismatched transplant would be catastrophic and deadly. But new research suggests this barrier could disappear if donor organs were treated with special enzymes that make them compatible with recipients of any blood type. “This research is really a game-changer in organ transplantation,” said Aizhou Wang, the lead author of a paper published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine. “For modern transplant medicine, matching is always part of the criteria when you are trying to find the suitable organ for a recipient.” (Read More)