19 votes

First human transplant of kidney modified to have ‘universal’ type-O blood type

Posted by brews_hairy_cats
Tags: medicine, surgery, transplants.organ, kidneys, blood, type o, author.rachel fieldhouse, source.nature, short read, paywall
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03248-5

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Published
Oct 3 2025
Word count
339 words

6 comments

  1. brews_hairy_cats
    Link

    Researchers from Canada and China used an enzyme to remove type-A antigens from a donor kidney. The enzyme converts type-A blood into type-O, says study author Stephen Withers, a chemist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. The type-O kidney was then transplanted into a 68-year-old brain-dead man in Chongqing, China. The organ remained healthy for two days before showing signs of rejection. It produced urine for six days. The results are published in Nature Biomedical Engineering today.

    10 votes
  2. [5]
    ahatlikethat
    Link
    transplanted into a 68-year-old brain-dead man in Chongqing, China I find this really disturbing. How was consent given? I mean, it's better than using a lab animal, but, still. (I was unable to...

    transplanted into a 68-year-old brain-dead man in Chongqing, China

    I find this really disturbing. How was consent given? I mean, it's better than using a lab animal, but, still. (I was unable to read the whole article, so maybe consent was explained somewhere.)

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      csos95
      Link Parent
      I found this article about the publication that says the man's family consented.

      I found this article about the publication that says the man's family consented.

      To see whether the kidney could escape immediate rejection in a human, the team turned to a brain-dead recipient whose family consented to the study.

      8 votes
      1. ahatlikethat
        Link Parent
        Thanks for finding that. I hope the family did that because they believed their family member would have wanted it that way.

        Thanks for finding that. I hope the family did that because they believed their family member would have wanted it that way.

        4 votes
    2. [2]
      MimicSquid
      Link Parent
      Given what is happening to minorities in China, the fact that this was done on someone who was already braindead rather than someone conscious and unwilling is a significant step up. I agree it's...

      Given what is happening to minorities in China, the fact that this was done on someone who was already braindead rather than someone conscious and unwilling is a significant step up. I agree it's questionable, but it's so much better than the worst case scenario.

      1 vote
      1. ahatlikethat
        Link Parent
        Well, if that's on the table, one wonders how the brain-dead person achieved that state. So not much consolation.

        Well, if that's on the table, one wonders how the brain-dead person achieved that state. So not much consolation.

        1 vote