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Community => Science and Technology => Topic started by: dpareja on August 25, 2018, 01:17:42 am

Title: Researchers find way to convert all donated blood to O-
Post by: dpareja on August 25, 2018, 01:17:42 am
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/aug-25th-2018-an-ancient-human-hybrid-child-universal-blood-parasites-parasitize-each-other-and-more-1.4795953/ubc-researchers-have-found-a-way-to-convert-any-blood-type-to-the-universal-o-1.4795975

One major problem with blood donation is that of matching blood types. Not all types are compatible with all other types, and only one type is usable for transfusions to any recipient: O-.

That type, however, is somewhat rare and medical professionals find themselves chronically short of it. Researchers have been looking for a way to convert any blood to O- for decades now, and a team at UBC appears to have figured it out.
Title: Re: Researchers find way to convert all donated blood to O-
Post by: Svata on August 26, 2018, 05:44:49 am
That's not ENTIRELY accurate. They can make A, B, and AB blood into O, yes, but they cannot make + into -.
Title: Re: Researchers find way to convert all donated blood to O-
Post by: dpareja on August 26, 2018, 06:22:49 am
That's not ENTIRELY accurate. They can make A, B, and AB blood into O, yes, but they cannot make + into -.

OK, sure. I imagine they're working on that part.

Still, it's huge news, because at the least they can convert A-, B-, and AB- to O-, which pretty significantly expands the pool of "universal donors".
Title: Re: Researchers find way to convert all donated blood to O-
Post by: Askold on August 26, 2018, 07:34:11 am
The big thing I suppose is that the process is now a lot cheaper and easier than the previous methods. And it's not like they have to do it to all the blood. Just make some extra O- blood from a few other types and that will already make things easier for those who have rarer blood types.
Title: Re: Researchers find way to convert all donated blood to O-
Post by: Svata on August 26, 2018, 07:34:53 am
Oh, absolutely. But it's still a far cry from "all donated blood," which is what was claimed.
Title: Re: Researchers find way to convert all donated blood to O-
Post by: dpareja on August 26, 2018, 02:25:38 pm
Oh, absolutely. But it's still a far cry from "all donated blood," which is what was claimed.

I suppose I misread the article.