Development of New Approaches to Improve the Supply of Universal “O-type” Red Blood Cells

Blood transfusions are used as a life-saving intervention in military and civilian health care systems. On the battlefield deaths are classified as non-survivable or survivable, with hemorrhage being the leading, preventable, cause of death in the latter category. The ability to resuscitate a traumatic hemorrhagic soldier as fast as possible is crucial for survivability. Blood transfusion is vital to this resuscitation.

A critical requirement in any blood transfusion is to match the blood types of the donor and recipient to avoid fatal ABO incompatibilities. While A and B blood can only be donated to people of the same type, O type blood can be given to anyone without significant concerns of hemolytic reactions. This results in high demands on O type blood, often resulting in short supply. Ways of improving the supply of O type blood are urgently needed to address this problem.