224
submitted 6 months ago by leanleft@lemmy.ml to c/medicine@mander.xyz

"Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Lund University, Sweden, have used enzymes produced by a common gut bacteria to remove the A and B antigens from red blood cells, bringing them one step closer to creating universal donor blood."

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] ArcaneGadget@lemmy.world 8 points 6 months ago

So, how bad would it be if some of those enzymes made their way into the blood stream of someone with blood type A, B, or AB?

[-] Albbi@lemmy.ca 17 points 6 months ago

Think of it like being allergic.

O types are allergic to everything. If they see an A or a B or both, they'll have a reaction.

A types are allergic to B. They have A riding along on their blood cells. Good times.

Similarly, B types are allergic to A.

AB abides all types.

So if you think of the reverse when donating blood, O types, since they're allergic to all types don't have any problems giving their blood since there's nothing for others to be allergic to. AB types are filthy and full of stuff others are allergic to, so they can only really share amongst themselves.

There's also +/- as an added complication.

This enzyme sounds pretty good as it'll just strip the stuff people could be allergic to. Put some AB blood in with the enzyme and you essentially get O blood anyone can use.

I secretly think your question was about a method of assassination. Receiving the antigens alone might not be a problem so much, but usually they're attached to red blood cells which your immune system will start fighting. Not good to have your body fight your blood.

[-] ArcaneGadget@lemmy.world 5 points 6 months ago

No-no. I was thinking more along the lines of: What if some of those enzymes for stripping blood cells of antigens got into your bloodstream and started stripping your own blood cells of antigens. If for example a blood donation hadn't gotten "filtered" well enough after the enzyme process.

[-] morphballganon@lemmy.world 9 points 6 months ago

I'm not an expert but I think the body would just make more of their type and be fine. The destructive agents would be spent fairly quickly and be removed.

[-] azi@mander.xyz 3 points 6 months ago

Your body doesn't have issue with the stripped donor blood so it wouldn't have any issue if your blood cells got stripped. The whole point of a blood transfusion is that your immune system doesn't know the difference between your blood and the donor blood.

Probably not very when it comes to blood itself since they would be able to accept blood that's been exposed to the enzymes from other people. But the enzymes might interact with other things in the body.

[-] wahming 2 points 6 months ago

It's changing those blood types into type O universal, so not a whit.

this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2024
224 points (100.0% liked)

Medicine

1092 readers
1 users here now

This is a community for medical professionals. Please see the Medical Community Hub for other communities.

Official Lemmy community for /r/Medicine.


!medicine@mander.xyz is a virtual lounge for physicians and other medical professionals from around the world to talk about the latest advances, controversies, ask questions of each other, have a laugh, or share a difficult moment.

This is a highly moderated community. Please read the rules carefully before posting or commenting.



Related Communities

See the pinned post in the Medical Community Hub for links and descriptions. link (!medicine@lemmy.world)


Rules

Violations may result in a warning, removal, or ban based on moderator discretion. The rule numbers will correspond to those on /r/Medicine, and where differences are listed where relevant. Please also remember that instance rules for mander.xyz will also apply.

  1. Flairs & Starter Comment: Lemmy does not have user flairs, but you are welcome to highlight your role in the healthcare system, however you feel is appropriate. Please also include a starter comment to explain why the link is of interest to the community and to start the conversation. Link posts without starter comments may be temporarily or permanently removed. (rule is different from /r/Medicine)

  2. No requests for professional advice or general medical information: You may not solicit medical advice or share personal health anecdotes about yourself, family, acquaintances, or celebrities, seek comments on care provided by other clinicians, discuss billing disputes, or otherwise seek a professional opinion from members of the community. General queries about medical conditions, prognosis, drugs, or other medical topics from the lay public are not allowed.

  3. No promotions, advertisements, surveys, or petitions: Surveys (formal or informal) and polls are not allowed on this community. You may not use the community to promote your website, channel, community, or product. Market research is not allowed. Petitions are not allowed. Advertising or spam may result in a permanent ban. Prior permission is required before posting educational material you were involved in making.

  4. Link to high-quality, original research whenever possible: Posts which rely on or reference scientific data (e.g. an announcement about a medical breakthrough) should link to the original research in peer-reviewed medical journals or respectable news sources as judged by the moderators. Avoid login or paywall requirements when possible. Please submit direct links to PDFs as text/self posts with the link in the text. Sensationalized titles, misrepresentation of results, or promotion of blatantly bad science may lead to removal.

  5. Act professionally and decently: /c/medicine is a public forum that represents the medical community and comments should reflect this. Please keep disagreement civil and focused on issues. Trolling, abuse, and insults (either personal or aimed at a specific group) are not allowed. Do not attack other users' flair. Keep offensive language to a minimum and do not use ethnic, sexual, or other slurs. Posts, comments, or private messages violating Reddit's content policy will be removed and reported to site administration.

  6. No personal agendas: Users who primarily post or comment on a single pet issue on this community (as judged by moderators) will be asked to broaden participation or leave. Comments from users who appear on this community only to discuss a specific political topic, medical condition, health care role, or similar single-topic issues will be removed. Comments which deviate from the topic of a thread to interject an unrelated personal opinion (e.g. politics) or steer the conversation to their pet issue will be removed.

  7. Protect patient confidentiality: Posting protected health information may result in an immediate ban. Please anonymize cases and remove any patient-identifiable information. For health information arising from the United States, follow the HIPAA Privacy Rule's De-Identification Standard.

  8. No careers or homework questions: Questions relating to medical school admissions, courses or exams should be asked elsewhere. Links to medical training communitys and a compilation of careers and specialty threads are available on the /r/medicine wiki. Medical career advice may be asked. (rule is different from /r/Medicine)

  9. Throwaway accounts: There are currently no limits on account age or 'karma'. (rule is different from /r/Medicine)

  10. No memes or low-effort posts: Memes, image links (including social media screenshots), images of text, or other low-effort posts or comments are not allowed. Videos require a text post or starter comment that summarizes the video and provides context.

  11. No Covid misinformation, conspiracy theories, or other nonsense

Moderators may act with their judgement beyond the scope of these rules to maintain the quality of the community. If your post doesn't show up shortly after posting, make sure that it meets our posting criteria. If it does, please message a moderator with a link to your post and explanation. You are free to message the moderation team for a second opinion on moderator actions.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS