November 26, 2025

Making the switch: Researchers turn donor kidneys into universal organs

Groundbreaking research led by scientists at the University of British Columbia in Canada and Sichuan University in China has demonstrated a new way to make donor kidneys compatible with recipients of any blood type.

This approach could not only improve access to transplantation but make organ donation fairer, reduce wait times, and ensure every donated organ has the best chance to save a life.

Published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, the study outlines a “donor-focused” technique to change the blood type of a donor organ using specialized enzymes. Specifically, the researchers removed A blood type markers from a donor kidney, essentially converting it to a universal donor kidney or type O kidney.

When the converted kidney was transplanted into a type O individual who had recently passed, it functioned normally and avoided rejection for several days. While the organ eventually showed signs of rejection, the study offers valuable insights into the feasibility of blood type converted organs and how the human body may react.

This study addresses a major barrier in transplantation: blood type incompatibility. Currently, if the blood type of a donor organ and recipient do not match, the recipient must go through an intensive process to remove the incompatible antibodies from their blood. However, this increases the risk of infection, bleeding, and other complications.

By changing the donor kidney itself, rather than the recipient’s immune system, this new approach offers a potentially safer alternative. While more research and clinical trials are yet to be done, this approach is a major step toward more equitable and effective kidney transplants for everyone.