ABO gene editing for the conversion of blood type A to universal type O in Rh_null donor-derived human-induced pluripotent stem cells

The limited availability of red cells with extremely rare blood group phenotypes is one of the global challenges in transfusion medicine that has prompted the search for alternative self-renewable pluripotent cell sources for the in vitro generation of red cells with rare blood group types. One such phenotype is the Rh_null , which lacks all the Rh antigens on the red cell membrane and represents one of the rarest blood types in the world with only a few active blood donors available worldwide. Rh_null red cells are critical for the transfusion of immunized patients carrying the same phenotype, besides its utility in the diagnosis of Rh alloimmunization when a high-prevalence Rh specificity is suspected in a patient or a pregnant woman. In both scenarios, the potential use of human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived Rh_null red cells is also dependent on ABO compatibility. Here, we present a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated ABO gene edition strategy for the conversion of blood type A to universal type O, which we have applied to an Rh_null donor-derived hiPSC line, originally carrying blood group A. This work provides a paradigmatic example of an approach potentially applicable to other hiPSC lines derived from rare blood donors not carrying blood type O.