Almost £2m in NHS funding is being funnelled to scientists at Newcastle University who are working on cutting-edge research which could radically reduce the risk of donor organs being rejected - particularly in BAME groups.
The funding forms part of a £20m boost from NHS Blood and Transplant and the National Institute for Health and Care Research in order to set up research units across the country which will take on the challenge of developing new medical technology that will improve patients' lives. The team at Newcastle are also working with experts from the University of Cambridge and will be focussing on organ donation and transplantation.
The hope is that they will be able to trial technology including using enzymes to remove what are called "blood group antigens" from donor organs. This would see organs from people with blood groups A or B treated to create type O organs. Type O organs are able to be donated to anyone.
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Some BAME groups tend to have a high prevalence of type B blood - which means it can often be harder to find suitable donors. Other research planned in Newcastle will see an app developed to use imaging to assess how healthy an organ is and what the transplant outcome will be.
The team will also be looking into how to better measure the impact a transplant has on someone's life.
Professor Andrew Fisher has been made deputy director of the new research unit. He is also an expert in respiratory transplant medicine at Newcastle University. He said: "We are delighted to be co-hosting this new [research unit], dedicated to increasing the quantity and quality of organ transplants performed and addressing inequalities in access to organ transplantation."
He said the team of researchers at Newcastle Uni and the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust would be working closely with colleagues in Cambridgeshire, but added patient support would be vital. He continued: "Input from patients and the public will play a pivotal role in our work and forms an important partnership for achieving maximum impact from the research performed.”"
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said the new research units would allow the NHS to "lead the way" in developing innovative treatments for blood disorders and blood cancer. He added: "It will also mean more people will have access to life-saving donations, blood transfusions, and cell therapy, helping us tackle disparities that exist among those waiting for organ transplants and stem cells.
"I urge more people to consider becoming an organ, blood or stem cell donor, especially those from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds."
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