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First human transplant of kidney modified to have ‘universal’ blood type

Recipient diagnosed with brain death received a type-O organ, which is compatible with all blood types.
By
  1. Rachel Fieldhouse

    1. Rachel Fieldhouse is a reporter for Nature in Sydney, Australia.

Scientists have converted the blood type of a donor kidney and transplanted the organ into a person. The procedure — the first of its kind — could improve access to donor organs, specialists say, because the blood type of the donor would no longer matter.

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Nature 646, 525 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03248-5

References

  1. Zeng, J. et al. Nature Biomed. Eng. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-025-01513-6 (2025).

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  2. Rahfeld, P. et al. Nature Microbiol. 4, 1475–1485 (2019).

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  3. Wang, A. et al. Sci. Transl. Med. 14, eabm7190 (2022).

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