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Researchers find way to convert all donated blood to O-

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dpareja:
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.

Svata:
That's not ENTIRELY accurate. They can make A, B, and AB blood into O, yes, but they cannot make + into -.

dpareja:

--- Quote from: 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 -.

--- End quote ---

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".

Askold:
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.

Svata:
Oh, absolutely. But it's still a far cry from "all donated blood," which is what was claimed.

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