After a decade of work, researchers are closer than ever to a key breakthrough in kidney transplants: being able to transfer kidneys from donors with different blood types than the recipients, which could significantly speed up waiting times and save lives.

In research published last year, a team from institutions across Canada and China reported creating a ‘universal’ kidney that, in theory, can be accepted by any patient.

Their test organ survived and functioned for several days in the body of a brain-dead recipient, whose family consented to the research.