UBC enzyme technology clears first human test toward universal donor organs for transplantation

University of British Columbia successfully developed enzymes that converted a kidney to universal type O for transplant, marking a major step toward faster, more compatible organ donations.

Originally published in The University of British Columbia site by Erik Rolfsen on October 3, 2025

The kidney, pre-transplant, in a perfusion device which is used to circulate a solution that contains the converting enzymes. Source: Nature Biomedical Engineering.

The first successful human transplant of a kidney converted from blood type A to universal type O used special enzymes developed at the University of BritishColumbia to help prevent a mismatch and rejection of the organ.

Published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, the achievement marks a major step toward helping thousands of patients get kidney transplants sooner.

In a first-in-human experiment, the enzyme-converted kidney was transplanted into a brain-dead recipient with consent from the family, allowing researchers to observe the immune response without risking a life

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