Rare blood donor program launched in Karnataka to support patients with uncommon blood types
Bangalore: In a significant move to address the blood requirements of patients with rare blood groups, the Rotary Bangalore TTK Blood Centre, part of Bangalore Medical Services Trust (BMST), launched a ‘Rare Blood Donor’ program on Tuesday. This initiative, in collaboration with the Karnataka State Blood Transfusion Council, was unveiled by Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on National Voluntary Blood Donation Day.
The program aims to establish a ‘Rare Blood Donor’ registry, creating a database of voluntary donors with rare blood types and maintaining a repository of frozen red cell units of these uncommon groups. The initiative has the technical support of the National Institute of Immunohematology (NIIH) ICMR Mumbai, New York Blood Center in the U.S., and the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) in Amsterdam.
Patients with conditions like thalassemia and cancer, who require frequent transfusions, are at particular risk when they have rare blood types, as it is difficult to find precisely matched donors. Pregnant women with rare blood groups are also at a higher risk of complications such as miscarriages and haemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN), which can be fatal if not managed.
Dr. Latha Jagannathan, Medical Director and Managing Trustee of Rotary Bangalore TTK Blood Centre, highlighted that the program will provide training and raise awareness across Karnataka’s blood centers about rare blood groups. She explained that advanced blood group testing using both serology and molecular techniques will help identify rare blood types in patients and their families.
“Out of 500 individuals tested so far, we have identified 60 rare blood donors who have been enrolled in the registry. We will also identify other voluntary donors with rare blood types and share anonymized data with the International Rare Donor Panel,” Dr. Latha stated, noting that BMST’s center, along with the ICMR center in Mumbai, is the only one in India with such a registry.
Ankit Mathur, Additional Medical Director at BMST, explained that there are currently 45 identified blood group systems, with ABO and Rh (Rhesus factor) being the most common. However, rare blood groups, such as the Bombay (Oh) phenotype and Rh-D-/-D-, are present in fewer than one in 1,000 to one in 10,000 people, and can cause complications during transfusions or pregnancies.
The BMST’s Rotary Bangalore TTK Blood Centre is notable for being the only NGO in India with a standalone facility that includes a blood center, tissue bank, HLA lab, and stem cell collection. It is Karnataka’s largest regional blood transfusion center, collecting around 40,000 units of blood annually, with 35% of the donations provided free of charge, all sourced from voluntary donors.
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Gujarat man held for impersonating govt official, duping people with forged letters
Ahmedabad (PTI): The Ahmedabad police have arrested a 29-year-old man who allegedly posed as a senior revenue official and used fake letters claiming to be from various government departments to cheat people, an official said on Sunday.
Mehul Shah, an engineer who manages two schools at Vankaner in Gujarat’s Morbi district, is accused of making lakhs of rupees with bogus documents and false claims, said inspector (crime branch) JK Makwana.
Shah had forged an appointment letter from the Ahmedabad district education officer (DEO) to offer a computer operator’s job in a government office to a complainant’s son. He also introduced himself as a trustee of a school and did not pay a man Rs 7 lakh due to him over the painting of a school building, the official said.
“Despite holding no official position in the state or central government, he used fake work permits and NOCs to cheat people of lakhs of rupees,” the police official said.
One complainant alleged that Shah identified himself as a top revenue department official and produced a fake letter from the chairman of the “department of science and research development” to make him install a siren and curtain in a hired vehicle but did not pay for the job, he said.
Bogus letters claiming to be from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ahmedabad DEO were used by the accused to cheat the complainants, the police official said.
Police have recovered from his possession fake identity cards and letters with headings like “bharat gaurav ratna shri samman council”, “chairman of department of science and research development”, “health and family welfare department”, and “road and building department”.
“The FIR is based on complaints by three victims. We appeal to the people to come forward and submit their complaints if they have been cheated by Shah in any way,” Makwana said.
