17 Oct , 17:53
0
Breakthrough in transplantology: scientists create a universal kidney suitable for any patient
An international team of researchers from Canada and China has made a revolutionary discovery in the field of organ transplantation. Scientists have developed a method of modifying donor kidneys that allows the organ to be transplanted to a patient with any blood type. The results of this outstanding research have been published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.
Specialists have taken a decisive step toward overcoming one of the main barriers in modern transplantology – the problem of blood type incompatibility. They managed to create a "universal" kidney theoretically compatible with any organism. Although transplants between different blood types are already performed today, such operations remain extremely complex, expensive, and risky. ABO system mismatches still often lead to graft rejection.
During the experiment, scientists took a human kidney with type A blood and treated it with special enzymes, converting it into an organ with type O blood. The essence of the method lies in removing certain antigens from the kidney surface that usually indicate belonging to a specific blood type. After such treatment, the immune system does not perceive the organ as foreign.
The effectiveness of the method was confirmed in practice: the modified kidney was transplanted into a patient diagnosed with "brain death" with the consent of their family. The transplant successfully functioned for several days, proving its viability. Despite the fact that markers of the original blood type began to restore over time, the immune response was significantly weaker compared to a conventional transplantation of an incompatible organ.
This discovery is especially important for patients with type O blood, who often wait years for a suitable organ. This is because type O individuals can only receive kidneys from donors with the same blood type, while their organs are suitable for transplantation to all others (with matching Rh factor). US statistics show that more than half of all those waiting for kidney transplantation have type O blood, and eleven people die daily without receiving the operation.
Despite the promising results, widespread clinical application of the technique is still far off. Scientists have yet to resolve issues related to the duration of the enzymatic treatment effect. Nevertheless, this discovery is already considered significant progress toward solving the problem of tissue incompatibility in organ transplantation.
