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Organ transplantation is a life saving therapy but is complicated by the need for a careful blood match between the donor of the organ and the recipient to avoid rejection of the transplant. Unfortunately, this means that patients can typically wait a long time before a suitable match is found. Approximately 4500 Canadians, including 750 British Columbians, are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant at any time, but less than a quarter of them will receive a kidney transplant each year, and sadly, many never will.  Identifying a suitable match requires both the donor and recipient to have certain matching biological features, including blood type. Type O blood is known as the “universal donor blood” and can be transplanted to patients of any blood type (A, B, AB, O).

The research team at Avivo Biomedical Inc. has discovered enzymes that can convert Type A blood to Type O. This opens up the possibility of greatly improving the supply of “universal” O type organs, which will create more matching opportunities for kidney transplants, as well as improve the equity of donor kidney allocation to patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). The equity of kidney transplantation is an important issue as the Type 0 and Type B blood types are more common in marginalized communities. To bring this technology to market, this project successfully evaluated the use of their conversion enzymes in an ex-vivo swine model, which further strengthened the company’s IP position and illustrated the future directions for the development of this technology. The ultimate outcome is improving the quality of life for people with ESRD, as well as the cost savings to the healthcare system associated with removing patients from dialysis.