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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ICC bans Sri Lankan cricketer Praveen Jayawickrama
Dubai, Oct 2: The ICC has banned Sri Lanka player Praveen Jayawickrama from all cricket for one year, of which six months are suspended, after he admitted breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code, parent body said in a press release on Wednesday. The charges relate to international cricket and the Lanka Premier League.
Jayawickrama admitted to being in breach of the following provision under the Code:
Article 2.4.7 – Obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU, including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence or may lead to the discovery of evidence of corrupt conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code.
As a result of the admission, Jayawickrama has accepted a sanction of a one-year period of ineligibility, of which the last six months are suspended.
The ICC Anti-Corruption Code and the complete decision (which has been redacted to protect the identities of the ICC’s witnesses and other third parties) can be found here.
