Indore (Madhya Pradesh): In a rare and urgent medical situation, blood donors have sent the rarest Bombay blood group from Nagpur and Wardha, by air, while one of the donors had driven from Shirdi, to provide a new lease of life to a female patient admitted to Robert Nursing Home.
Moreover, a nationwide search for the blood group was initiated by city-based blood call centreís Ashok Nayak.
Patient Pawan, wife of Rahul, a 26-year-old resident of Badnagar, was admitted to Robert Nursing Home in Indore, a couple of days ago.
"Initial tests revealed she had the Bombay blood group, a rarity that complicated her treatment. With no local donors available in Indore, doctors reached out to MYH Blood Bank but to no avail. Further investigation identified the same blood group in the patient's elder sister Sangeeta, from whom one unit was transfused," Nayak said.
Later, he mobilised a nationwide search for donors and in response, Ravindra from Shirdi drove to Indore to donate blood. Additionally, blood from Rohit in Wardha and another donor in Nagpur was collected and flown in to meet the urgent need.
"This coordinated effort ensured the patient received necessary transfusions, stabilising her condition," he said.
Patient's husband Rahul said that she was treated at Badnagar City Hospital for a bleeding issue, where two units of O positive blood were transfused due to misdiagnoses, worsening her health and causing kidney problems.
Treating consultant Dr Yogendra Malviya said, "Her correct diagnosis was made in hospital and she had also gone through a surgery. The urgent search for Bombay blood group donors began in time and successful transfusion from these rare donors ultimately saved her life."
This marks only the third instance of Bombay group blood being brought to Indore, with previous occurrences in 2014 and 2018.
What is Bombay blood group
The Bombay blood group is a rare blood group, phenotypes of this group lacking H antigen on the red cell membrane and have anti-H in the serum. It fails to express any A, B or H antigen on their red cells or other tissues. Discovered by Dr YM Bhende in 1952 in Mumbai, the Bombay blood group is among the rarest, with only about 180 known individuals in India. This blood type is predominantly found in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and some parts of the Middle East.
