This topic was posted , thanks Born Conservative.
Posted on 04/04/2007 6:38:33 PM PDT by Born Conservative
A scientific breakthrough could help alleviate blood shortages and reduce the danger of accidental blood-type mismatches, researchers and executives for a U.S. biotech firm said yesterday.
An international team of scientists announced that it has found a way to convert Types A, B, and AB blood into Type O -- the universal donor blood group that can be given to anyone -- and the American company that commissioned the research said such "universally transfusible" blood has the potential to solve problems associated with storing, transporting and transfusing blood.
"The prospects for this are huge ... since blood now must be transfused on a group-specific basis," Douglas L. Clibourn, chief executive officer of ZymeQuest, said in a telephone interview yesterday.
The team of Danish, English and French researchers reported this week in the journal Nature Biotechnology that it isolated two bacterial enzymes that break down and remove the sugar molecules (antigens) on the surface of A, AB and B red blood cells that can cause potentially deadly immune reactions in patients transfused with mismatched blood.
Under the so-called ABO blood classification system in use for more than a century, Type O blood can be given to anyone, because it lacks such antigens. But Type A blood can only be given to people whose blood is Types A or AB, and Type B blood can only be used in those with blood Types B or AB.
It is costly to ship blood where and when specific types are needed, Mr. Clibourn said. If the new process proves to be safe and cost-effective in clinical trials, "it will allow all red blood cell products to be transfused to anybody, so it will significantly reduce blood shortages," said Samira Johnson, a spokeswoman for ZymeQuest, based in Beverly, Mass.
(Excerpt) Read more at insider.washingtontimes.com ...
Don’t ever let anyone talk you into taking any other type than O-!
It had better be a REAL emergency for an O neg. to be transfused with O pos. It is a one time deal.
Our doctor said ,that the only time that he would ever cross type a patient, is if blood is pouring out faster that they can put it in.
Huh? What if you're O+ ?
Do we have anyone up on their hematology? What about Kell, Kidd, Duffy, etc.? It’s been a while for cracking the books. Are these all carbohydrate antigens expressed on red blood cells too?
This topic was posted , thanks Born Conservative.
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