07/07/2026
Scientists just took a major step toward solving one of transplant medicine's biggest problems: blood type mismatch.
For over a decade, researchers Stephen Withers and Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu at the University of British Columbia worked on enzymes that could strip away the sugar markers that define blood type A on human cells. In 2019, they found two enzymes that could do exactly that, effectively turning type A into type O, the universal donor type.
In October 2025, that research reached a milestone. A team led by Dr. Turun Song at West China Hospital, working with UBC and the spinout company Avivo Biomedical, used these enzymes to convert a donor kidney from type A to type O. They transplanted this "enzyme-converted" kidney into a brain-dead patient whose family had consented to the study, allowing scientists to observe the immune response without risking a living patient's life.
The results were encouraging. For two full days, the kidney functioned with no signs of hyperacute rejection, the rapid immune attack that can destroy a mismatched organ within minutes. By day three, some of the original blood markers reappeared and triggered a mild reaction, but it was far less severe than a typical mismatch, and there were signs the body was starting to tolerate the organ.
This matters because blood type compatibility is one of the biggest bottlenecks in kidney transplants. Right now, thousands of patients wait years for a matching donor. If this technology is refined and approved for clinical trials, a single donated kidney could one day be converted to work for patients regardless of their blood type, dramatically shrinking waitlists and saving lives.
The research was published in Nature Biomedical Engineering. Regulatory approval for clinical trials is the next step before this could become part of real patient care.
