Donating blood is very important as hospitals aim to keep enough of each blood type on hand in case it’s needed during an emergency. Logistically the blood transfusion process would be a whole lot easier though if doctors didn’t have to worry about blood types. If universal blood was all that they had to deal with. Thankfully, that may be exactly what the future has in store for us thanks to the discovery of a new enzyme that could convert Type A and Type B blood into Type O in a quick and easy way.
As Futurism explains, “Blood types are different because of the sugars on the surface of the red blood cells the body creates. Type A has one type of sugar and Type B has another; Type AB has both sugars. Type O doesn’t have any sugars.
If a person receives a blood transfusion of a blood type that’s not their own, their immune system will attack and kill the donated blood cells. For example, a person with Type A blood could never receive a Type B donation because their system would simply reject the new blood because the sugars aren’t quite right.
Because Type O blood doesn’t carry any sugars, anyone can receive it — it’s the universally accepted blood type and, therefore, highly desirable.”
The problem is having enough of it on hand to meet every need. If you could somehow convert any blood type into Type O though you wouldn’t have to worry about that problem. You’d always have enough useful blood to work with. And thanks to the discovery of a useful enzyme that was residing in our guts this whole time that may now be possible.
Is an enzyme that converts A and B blood types into Type 0 the Greatest Idea Ever?
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