Lung with switched blood type is step towards universal donor organs

Using two enzymes, researchers changed a donated lung from type A to type O, which can be accepted by any recipient

By Alex Wilkins

Researchers have successfully changed the blood type of a donated human lung by treating it with enzymes, in an important step towards making universal donor organs.

“We still have a way to go to show safety in clinical trials,” says Marcelo Cypel at the University of Toronto, Canada. “But assuming that the results on clinical trials are similar to the results we observed here, this will be a major breakthrough.”

Blood types are largely defined by the …