We all know of the ABO system of defining blood groups but doctors at the Kasturbha Medical College and Hospital in Mangaluru discovered a rare blood group ‘P null’, first of it’s kind in India.
A patient at the Kasturbha Medical College and Hospital in Mangaluru required urgent blood transfusion. When the patient’s sample did not match with over 80 different units of blood, the Blood Bank at the Kasturba Hospital sent the sample to the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory (IBGRL), Bristol, United Kingdom, for a further diagnostic tests.
Post extensive testing, the team at IBGRL confirmed that the patient actually had a rare blood group ‘p null’ or “pp” phenotype. This is the first instance of a rare blood group being identified in India.
Usually ABO and Rh D are the blood groups found in India but there are more than 200 lesser known blood groups.
Antigens present in one’s blood is what helps confirm one’s blood group. In this case, the patient had a blood group which did not match either the ABO antigen group or Rh D antigen group which led to the confirmation of the rare ‘P null’ type blood group.
In a statement released by Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Dr. Shastry, Head, Department of Immunohaematology and Blood Transfusion, said:
The patient has the very rare ‘P null’ blood group and anti-PP1Pk antibody in his blood that has the potential to cause acute intravascular haemolytic reaction to incompatible blood transfusion.Dr Shastry
Many doctors feel that maintaining a registry with details of rare blood type donors would help in such cases.
(Have you subscribed to FIT’s newsletter yet? Click here and get health updates directly in your inbox.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)