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Now Everyone's a Universal Donor

MONDAY APRIL 16 2007 11:00 AM

Submitted by almostfamous. Edited By erin_broadley.

TAGS: Blood, Transfusions, Science,

Do you know your blood type? In an emergency knowing could save your life. Of the four blood types, only one can be given to any patient in a transfusion -- O. It's the universal donor. Giving type A blood to a type B donor can be fatal, as the body's immune system fights against it, so if you don't know your type, and they're all out of O at the hospital, your chances of survival just went way down. All that is set to change though, as a group of scientists have discovered a way to convert all blood types to type O.

Red blood cells fall into four groups, A, B, AB, and O, according to sugars, or antigens, they have on their surface.
[...]
In a study published yesterday in the journal Nature Biotechnology, an international team of scientists describe enzymes they have found that act like miniature scissors to snip off the sugar molecules, converting all blood cells to group O.

The team leader, Henrik Clausen of the University of Copenhagen, said that giving people the wrong blood could result in severe immune reactions and even death.

"The conversion processes we describe hold promise for achieving the goal of producing universal red blood cells which would improve the blood supply while enhancing the safety of clinical transfusions," he said. Clinical trials were planned to test whether the blood treated with enzymes is safe and effective.

The promise of more blood available in our hospitals is a fantastic one, many reading this will be ineligible to give blood; in all but a handful of US states you must wait 12 months after being tattooed before you can donate, and there are other restrictions based on sexual history and even travel history, but if you are eligible why not give it a try? You might be able to save even more lives than you'd think.

30 Comments

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apesamongus

Atlanta, GA

July 2002

APR 16, 2007 11:08 AM

I love science.

MistressMissy

Grand Rapids, MI

March 2003

APR 16, 2007 11:15 AM

I'm one of those people who has no fucking clue what their blood type is.

DevilsReject

Cleveland, OH

February 2007

APR 16, 2007 11:16 AM

i already am O, you shall now all change to be like me!

RileyStClair

STAFF

Los Angeles, CA

APR 16, 2007 11:22 AM

i have no clue what my blood type is either.
i'm thinking A for awesome.

i plan to donate blood as soon as i am able.
for a long time i didn't meet the weight requirement, now that i do i have to stop getting tattoos for awhile.

Jennifer_

Venezuela

November 2006

APR 16, 2007 11:23 AM

apesamongus said:
I love science.

wenis

Brentwood, CA

July 2006

APR 16, 2007 11:28 AM

Science FTW!!!!
my mom often encourages me to donate since i am type o does this mean i am no longer needed?i feel so unwanted right now.

luxmeaveritas

Albuquerque, NM

December 2004

APR 16, 2007 11:36 AM

In my area, they are requiring one be 130 pounds to donate blood. At 5'1, that would mean I'd have to be more overweight than I'd like. But I would donate blood, I need to get over the fear of needles.

theyCALLmeMIKIE

Philadelphia, PA

February 2006

APR 16, 2007 12:13 PM

type A-.
but i can't donate for about another year due to a trip to korea a had a couple years back.

Reptilia

Jonesboro, AR

October 2004

APR 16, 2007 12:19 PM

I gave blood a while back. They sent me a card in the mail. If I recall I think I'm B+. This is great news if they're able to get it working.

ButtBoi

Boulder, CO

August 2006

APR 16, 2007 12:21 PM

A+!
You also need to know if you are + or -

Donate as often as you can, 'cause it lowers the amount of iron in your blood which lowers bacterias ability to to infect you! Or you could get a couple of pet leeches.

Lux, you can still give plasma which is often in more demand than whole blood.

YEAH! Bleed till it hurts!

SatansPetCat

Bellevue, WA

January 2006

APR 16, 2007 12:38 PM

For those who don't know their blood type, they tell you after your donate. I carry the little card in my wallet in case I'm every hospitalized and need blood.

God I hope that never happens.

Femke

Lloydminster, AB

March 2007

APR 16, 2007 01:57 PM

my boyfriend is in the process of being a live donor - he is donating 60% of his liver to his dying father. Thankfully his father is a typo O.. it makes the chances of this being successful a lot higher.

I'm A+ I donate whenever I can, but I have a slight iron deficiency so sometimes I'm not allowed to

johaanfaust

Klamath Falls, OR

December 2003

APR 16, 2007 04:38 PM

Dammit! My O- blood is less special now.

XamaX_is_Dead

La Mesa, CA

March 2007

APR 16, 2007 04:51 PM

I'm A(-). this is good news for me since it is the 3rd rarest blood type. i should donate more.

on a side note, in the Marine Corps, blood type is one of the 6 pieces of information given on your dog tags. the other 5 are name, SSN, gas mask size, branch of service, and religious preference. If the dog tag is red coated (a red plastic transparent coating slipped over the tag) it indicates an allergy or medical condition. I use to think this was the univerasal dog tag format for all branches of the US military, but the other branches do not include gas mask size, or use the red coating. Just thought you might like to know

dkmfc

Germany

January 2003

APR 16, 2007 04:54 PM

XamaX_is_Dead said:
I'm A(-). this is good news for me since it is the 3rd rarest blood type. i should donate more.

on a side note, in the Marine Corps, blood type is one of the 6 pieces of information given on your dog tags. the other 5 are name, SSN, gas mask size, branch of service, and religious preference. If the dog tag is red coated (a red plastic transparent coating slipped over the tag) it indicates an allergy or medical condition. I use to think this was the univerasal dog tag format for all branches of the US military, but the other branches do not include gas mask size, or use the red coating. Just thought you might like to know

and knowing is half the battle.

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