Demand for rare blood types is increasing

According to information from the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, the need for rare Rh(D) negative blood is currently increasing.

Voluntary blood donation symbol. Illustration photo: Minh Quyet/VNA

From the Lunar New Year 2023 to now, in just 2 months, the Institute has received an estimated supply of blood and rare blood products from hospitals of up to 180 units. While this number for the whole year of 2022 is only 350 units.

In particular, in the past week, there have been consecutive cases of patients needing rare blood type O Rh(D) negative, each case requiring at least 3-5 units. Many serious cases such as: Patients with severe septic shock (being treated at the Central Tropical Hospital); heart surgery patients (Bach Mai Hospital); patients with acute blood loss due to prolonged menstrual bleeding ( Hanoi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital), patients with leukemia (Central Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion)...

This has put pressure not only on the Institute, the National Blood Center but also the Rare Blood Group Club in the Northern region. The blood donation hotline of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion; the Rare Blood Group Club in the Northern region has contacted most of the members who are eligible to donate blood. Despite the continuous "storm" of need for blood and rare blood platelets, many members were ready to be present as soon as they received a call from the Institute and the mobilization information from the club.

Some people just have enough time to donate again, some people have not donated blood for many years for various reasons, some people are attached to the Institute as regular collaborators, some people have to travel far - from Phu Xuyen to the fixed blood donation point of the Agricultural Hospital... But no matter who they are, they all share the same spirit of being ready to donate blood to save lives. However, due to the "rare" nature of the blood type, and being mobilized continuously since Tet, it is somewhat difficult to meet the demand for rare blood in a timely manner.

The National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion would like to express our sincere thanks to the rare blood group community for their enthusiasm over the past time; at the same time, we hope that the solidarity and sharing of the rare blood group community will help patients overcome the crisis and recover their health soon.

Due to the increasing demand for rare blood types, the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion hopes to continue to receive the attention, support, and sharing of people who donate rare blood types Rh(D) negative to patients in need of blood. If they are in good health, people with rare blood types Rh(D) negative can contact the Blood Donation Hotline 0976990066 to register. The National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion will contact to invite blood donations when there is a patient in need.

According to the convention of the International Society of Blood Transfusion, a blood group with a frequency of less than 0.1% is called a rare blood group and less than 0.01% is called a very rare blood group. Therefore, in Vietnam, the Rh(D) negative blood group is a rare blood group because it only accounts for nearly 0.1% of the population. The AB blood group is not considered a rare blood group (because it accounts for 5% of the population).

According to VNA

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