Hope for minority transplant when scientists successfully change the blood type of donor kidney | UK News

Scientists have successfully changed the blood types of three donated kidneys – a breakthrough that could increase the supply of kidneys available for transplantation, especially for ethnic minorities who are less able to afford a transplant. ability to find a suitable kidney.

Kidneys of people with blood type A cannot be transplanted to people with blood type B, and vice versa.

But changing the blood type to universal O would allow more transplants to take place, as this could be used for people with any blood type.

Cambridge University researchers used a Norwegian infusion machine – a device that connects to a human kidney to pass oxygenated blood through the organ to better preserve it for future use – to flush it out. blood is infused with an enzyme through the kidney of a deceased donor.

The enzyme removed blood type markers located in the blood vessels of the kidney, resulting in the organ being converted to type O.

One person whose game-changing discovery gave hope to Ayesha Edmonson, a mother of two from Bury in Greater Manchester.

Ms Edmonson, who was diagnosed with stage 3 chronic kidney disease in 1998 when she was pregnant with her first child, called the news “brilliant” and a “huge breakthrough”.

She added: “It gives us hope to save thousands of lives around the world.

Ms. Edmonson, who used to work in retail, has seen her kidneys decline over time COVID-19 locked, when she was told she would need a transplant.

However, she fears she could have to wait twice, even triple, for whites, with consultants estimating it could take six years to a decade.

‘A shock’

According to last year’s NHS Blood and Transplant report, just over 9.2% of all organs donated were from blacks and ethnic minorities, while they made up 33% of the kidney transplant waiting list. .

“Even though I knew my condition was going that way, I was still a bit shocked,” Ms Edmonson said when she received the news.

“Because no matter how much I prepare, when I receive news like that, it will be very difficult. It affects my spirit quite a bit.”

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She recently started volunteering for Kidney Research UK, the charity that funds Cambridge research.

The project has yet to reach the clinical trial stage, but will be published in the British Journal of Surgery in the coming months.

Serena MacMillan, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, said the study “has the potential to affect so many lives”.

“Our confidence was really boosted after we applied the enzyme to a piece of human kidney tissue and quickly found that the antigens were removed.

“Then we knew the process was possible, and we just needed to scale the project up to apply the enzyme to a full-sized human kidney.”

‘Weight loss’

People from ethnic minority groups typically wait a year longer for their transplants than white patients, so the study could have special implications for them, experts say.

Dr Aisling McMahon, executive director of research at Kidney Research UK, said she hopes the research will “redress the balance” in the meantime.

For Ms Edmonson, whose daily life has been marred by a devastating illness, research offers hope for the future.

But she also has words for the present, to minorities who are uncertain about organ donation because of what she feels is stigma and lack of awareness.

“People’s religious beliefs play an imperative role in making life-changing decisions,” she said.

“Even after the law changed, so everyone was automatically an organ donor, a lot of people decided to decline (not participate in the program), but I would say ‘think about it. about that’.

“Because you’re giving someone a chance to live their life normally, be able to work, be able to raise a family and be able to have great adventures in life – and you Can’t really argue with that.”