Recent advances on the development of a universal blood type

Abstract

Blood transfusion is the most common form of tissue transplant, and correct blood type matching is decisive for the success of this procedure. However, the availability of different blood types depends on each population, leading to a shortage of blood units from uncommon types. Then, it represents a problem for patients who need a blood transfusion because the supply for their blood type is scarce. Fortunately, researchers have been developing different techniques to engineer universal red blood cells (RBC) that could be transplanted to any human being independent of its blood type. This paper details the main features of blood transfusion and red blood cells maintenance and the two more recent procedures used to produce universal RBCs, the Enzymatically Converted Group O (ECO) and the antigen masking methods.