Changing Blood Types
By: Mackenzy Davis
How is this possible?
Scientists are making ground breaking discovery that there is an enzyme that gets rid of sugar which is very common in type A and B blood to a more uncommon but universal type O blood.
Why is this so important to research?
Type O is considered it's universal because it can donate to everyone. If there is a way of changing blood types to be type O then it would save time in an emergency rather than having to test the blood and then have to make sure they have the blood in stock.
What is so different between blood types?
A: has only the A antigen on red cells (and B antibody in the plasma)
B: has only the B antigen on red cells (and A antibody in the plasma)
AB: has both A and B antigens on red cells (but neither A nor B antibody in the plasma)
O:has neither A nor B antigens on red cells (but both A and B antibody are in the plasma)
What is the future for this topic of research?
I believe this is something in science that won't just get "booted" from the importance list because of how much it could help people in the medical field and obviously the patient.
How does this relate to biology?
This relates to biology because blood is in the body. Biology is the study of life and blood is essential to life.
Study Helps Scientists Get Closer to Changing Blood Types
Why I researched this topic:
When I was little I would always play doctor with my grandfather and grandmother. My grandfather was a medic during the Vietnam War, he still had all his equipment and he taught me how to assist when someone is hurt. As I got older everyone in my family has hurt themselves in one way or another and my grandfather and i were always the ones who didn't mind blood and performed first aid. I gave my brother stitches, I stopped the bleeding when he slipped and hit his head of a flower pot, got a piece of metal out of my moms foot, i would always check my cousins insulin, and I felt a lump in my mom's leg and took her to the hospital and it turns out that she had blood clots going to her lungs. I have always thought blood was cool because of all the things it does in the body. If this is a way to help people I would really like it to be a way to save peoples lives so that is why I chose this topic.