Bacterial fucosidase enables the production of Bombay red blood cells

Abstract

We present a method to produce H antigen-deficient red blood cells (RBCs) for transfusion to individuals with anti-H antibodies. A fucosidase from bacteria was heterologously expressed efficiently in E. coli and has been demonstrated to completely remove H antigens on the surface of human RBCs in a facile conversion process. The approach we describe here holds promise for making H-deficient RBCs available for a rare population beyond ABO types.