At the AABB General Meeting award ceremony in San Diego on October 25, 2025, Martin L. Olsson was honored as one of this year’s recipients of the AABB President’s Award. He was recognized “for important, pioneering research and leadership that has advanced the field of transfusion medicine, transplantation, and biotherapies, and has improved donor and patient safety.”
“The award has traditionally been given primarily to American citizens. Last year, for instance, it went to Nobel laureate Harvey Alter, who co-discovered the hepatitis C virus. That makes it even more of an honor to receive it,” says Martin L. Olsson.
AABB is an internationally leading organization promoting quality, safety, and innovation in blood transfusion and advanced biotherapies. Each year, the AABB president selects awardees to recognize outstanding research contributions and service to society. This year, the awards, presented by AABB President Meghan Delaney, celebrated "members of our community who have done extraordinarily important and impactful work this year,” acknowledging their “service to patients, donors, and science.”
Martin L. Olsson’s research focuses, among other things, on the discovery and function of blood groups. Over the years, his research group has identified several new blood group systems. In another project, enzymes from gut bacteria are used to convert blood from donors with blood groups A, B, and AB into the universal blood group O. This work has also led to the discovery of new ABO antigens. If the concept proves successful, it could make blood transfusions safer by simplifying logistics and reducing the risk of transfusion reactions.
