Blood type changing?

[LEDlump]

Hi there I'm new. I'm wondering if one could change one's blood type, maybe through gene-therapy or nanogene-therapy? I know it can be changed through a bone marrow transplant, but that's it. Beware that I know very little about Genetics and even less about Nanogenetics.

 

Sorry if this is a waste of a thread or if I necro'd an old thread. Thanks for reading (^-^)

[The Flaming Goldfish]

Hello, LEDlump. Welcome to SFN! It's a good question. As far as I know, I'm sure it theoretically can be changed with gene therapy were the proper targeting mechanisms to be found and such. They would have to target the bone marrow, since that's the part that's producing the blood cells. I'm not very well versed on nanogenetics, but I'm sure traditional gene therapy could do it with the proper advances. I do think there'd be factors to consider though, such as how to condition our immune system to accept the change. There's a good chance the immune cells would see the newly typed blood cells as hostile foreign cells. I think to get further into that you'd have to tinker around with things like the MHC (Major Histocompatibility Complex), which handles the foreign vs. host cell recognition. Interesting question though.

[LEDlump]

I was thinking that the new cells might be attacked by the immune system, so that's why I was thinking Nanogenetics for a complete overhaul of the genetic code throughout the body. I'd think less to target a part of the body to change and more to target the whole body if that could be done. I'm not sure if that could be safely done.

[dmaiski]

I was thinking that the new cells might be attacked by the immune system, so that's why I was thinking Nanogenetics for a complete overhaul of the genetic code throughout the body. I'd think less to target a part of the body to change and more to target the whole body if that could be done. I'm not sure if that could be safely done.

if the blood type was changed the resultant blood clotting would kill the patient, unless you disable clotting with heparin or some other anticoagulant drug due to the imune complexes to the foreign blood type still being produced. that is unless you changed the blood type to O.

 

also the changes would take 3-4 monthe to take effect due to blood being cycled.

[dvguy]

It happened to my wife. She was O+ throughout her childhood according to her mother and as confirmed by her medical records, etc, (her uncle is in immunologist and her cousin is a tech in a hematology clinic). It wasn't until some time around the age of 18, when she applied for a driver's license and had her blood type checked again, that she realized her type was different. It came back as B+. She's had it checked several times since then to confirm. Still B+.

 

I had never heard of it before this before I met her. She's not had any transfusions or transplants of any kind.