救命创新——可转换血型的新方法

7月，美国红十字会紧急宣布血库存留告急——根本没有足够的献血来帮助所有需要输血的病人。

Now, researchers from the University of British Columbia may have found a way to address the problem, even if people aren't donating more: convert a less-usable blood type into one that anyone can receive.

现在，不列颠哥伦比亚大学的研究人员可能已经找到了解决问题的方法，哪怕没有足够献血者：将不太可用的血型转换为对任何人都可以接受的血型。

They presented their research on Tuesday at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

他们上周二在美国化学学会会议上展示了他们的研究成果。

Blood types are different because of the sugars on the surface of the red blood cells the body creates. Type A has one type of sugar and Type B has another; Type AB has both sugars. Type O doesn't have any sugars.

红细胞表面的糖分子类型决定了不同的血型。A型有一种糖，B型有另一种;AB型同时含有两种糖。O型没有任何糖。

If a person receives a blood transfusion of a blood type that's not their own, their immune system will attack and kill the donated blood cells.

如果一个人接受了与自己血型不符的输血，因为糖分子类型不正确，免疫系统将攻击并杀死外来的血细胞。

For example, a person with Type A blood could never receive a Type B donation .

例如，A型血的人永远不能接受B型献血。

Because Type O blood doesn't carry any sugars, anyone can receive it - it's the universally accepted blood type and, therefore, highly desirable.

因为O型红血球不携带糖，所以任何人都可以接受它——普遍接受的血型，非常有价值。

In the past, researchers figured out that certain enzymes (molecules that cause chemical reactions) could remove the sugars from A, B, and AB blood cells, converting them into the more useful Type O.

在过去，研究人员发现某些酶可以从A，B和AB型血细胞中去除糖分子，将它们转化为更有用的O型血。

However, as researcher Stephen Withers noted in a press release, they hadn't yet discovered an enzyme that was efficient, safe, and economical. Their search for that enzyme took them into the human gut.

然而，正如研究员Stephen Withers在新闻稿中指出的那样，他们那时还没有找到一种高效、安全和经济的酶。他们反复试验，最终将目光瞄准了人体肠道。

Withers and his team already knew that the lining of the digestive tract contained the same sugars found on blood cells, and that bacterial enzymes within human feces stripped those sugars from the lining to power digestion.

Withers和他的团队知道，消化道的内层含有与血细胞相同的糖，人体粪便中的细菌酶将这些糖从粘膜上剥离，消化成为能量。

Using this knowledge, the researchers were able to isolate an enzyme that strips the sugars from A and B blood types, transforming them into Type O 30 times more efficiently than any previously discovered enzyme.

利用这些知识，研究人员最终分离出一种从A型和B型血液中去除糖类的酶，其转化效率比以前发现的任何酶都要高出30倍。

For now the researchers are double-checking their findings. The next step would then be to test the enzyme in a clinical setting, which will help determine if the conversion process produces any unintended consequences.

目前，研究人员正在仔细审查他们的研究结果。下一步是在临床环境中测试该酶，这将有助于确定转化过程是否会产生意外的后果。

All that extra testing could still take some time. But Withers is optimistic that his team's enzyme could be just the breakthrough we need to ensure anyone who needs a blood donation in the future will be able to receive one.

完成所有测试需要一些时间。但Withers乐观地认为，他们团队发现的酶可以改善当前血液供应情况，使医用血源不足成为过去式。