YOU’RE rushed into hospital and need a blood transfusion – but what is your blood group? In future, it may not matter, thanks to enzymes that scrub antigens from red blood cells, turning all donated blood into group O, which can be given to anyone.
The A and B antigens, which give blood groups their name, are sugars carried on the surface of red blood cells. Our cells can carry one of these antigens, both or neither, giving four blood groups: A, B, AB and O. We make antibodies against those antigens not carried by our own cells, and these can…
