Author : Dr. P. D.GUPTA
Former Director Grade Scientist, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India
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Blood is a specialized body fluid. It has four main components: plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The Blood delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Immunologically, red blood cells fall into four groups, A, B, AB, and O, according to sugars, or antigens, they have on their surface The ABO blood group system was discovered in 1900.
Blood from group A, B and AB donors can only be given to certain people, making group O in demand in emergencies when people's blood type is not known, or alternatives are not available. The team leader, Henrik Clausen of the University of Copenhagen, said that giving people the wrong blood could result in severe immune reactions and even death.
This means groups A, B and AB can only be given to patients with compatible blood, while O - as long as it is rhesus negative - can be given to anyone.
Scientists have developed a way of converting one blood group into another. In the 1980s researchers isolated an enzyme from coffee beans that could remove the B antigen from red blood cells. The process was expensive, however, and did not develop further. Later, scientists found more powerful enzymes that could efficiently snip off both A and B antigens. The new technique works by using bacterial enzymes to cut sugar molecules from the surface of red blood cells.
The technique potentially enables blood from groups A, B and AB to be converted into group O negative
Trials needed
The conversion processes hold promise for achieving the goal of producing universal red blood cells which would improve the blood supply while enhancing the safety of clinical transfusions . Clinical trials were planned to test whether the blood treated with enzymes is safe and effective. However, they say that patient trials will be needed before the conversion method can be used in hospitals.
The use of enzymes to convert blood groups have long been proposed, but has proved to be impractical due to the inefficiency and incompatibility of available enzymes. But the enzymes discovered in the latest study may finally overcome these problems.
The method may enable the manufacture of universal red cells, which would substantially reduce pressure on the blood supply. (The author has his own study and views)
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