A National Registry For The Bombay Blood Group
According to its nomenclature, Dr. Y.M. Bhide made the initial discovery of the Rarest Blood Group in 1952 in Mumbai (then known as Bombay). This incident occurred when a patient who needed a blood transfusion was admitted to the KEM hospital.
Blood with blood group O was transfused to the patient as a result of the red blood cells in the blood being clustered similarly to that of the O group during the routine blood diagnostic procedure. The blood transfusion was discontinued when the patient eventually experienced a hemolytic transfusion reaction. A new blood type known as the Bombay blood group, also known as the HH group, was later identified after a thorough analysis of the patient’s blood was conducted.
The State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC) has directed the blood centres to submit the list of donors with the specified type due to an increase in demand for the Bombay (Oh) blood group, which is a rare blood group throughout Maharashtra and the nation.
The Rare Occurrence Of This Blood Group
The global population with this extremely rare phenotypic blood group typically makes roughly 4 per million. It may be found in one person out of every 10,000 in Bombay. There are around 179 individuals with the Bombay phenotypic blood group known to exist in India. Interestingly, when 42-year-old Mr. Annappa sought to donate blood to his sick son in Bangalore in 2010, it was discovered that he belonged to a rare blood group.
That brought the total number of individuals in India up to 180. This blood type is frequently misidentified as “o,” and if appropriate procedures for blood grouping or testing are not followed, it may remain undetected.
Any other blood type combined with Bombay blood group infusions runs the risk of causing a deadly hemolytic transfusion response. If a person has blood type “O,” it is advisable to confirm through appropriate testing at a standard diagnostic institution that it is not the Bombay blood type just to be safe.
The Bombay (Oh) type registry will be updated by the SBTC. Patients from all around Maharashtra and the nation request constantly for this group’s blood to be sent to the Council, which then gives it to the Life Blood Council.
In the meanwhile, medical professionals stated that in order to facilitate prompt donations, blood banks should have a uniform register for all unusual blood types. They emphasised that while the “hh” group has a shelf life of 35 to 42 days, blood banks typically do not store it there.
Issues with the Transfusion of the Bombay Blood Group
The O blood group also expresses the H antigen, which is not expressed by those with the hh phenotype. As a result, their red blood cells are unable to produce substance A or substance B, often known as A or B antigen, respectively.
People with the Bombay blood group are therefore able to donate blood to any individual in the ABO blood group system, but they are unable to receive blood from any individual in the ABO blood group system. Put otherwise, a safe and problem-free blood transplant from the same phenotype is only possible for persons who possess Bombay Blood.
Conclusion
In the world of human blood types, the Bombay blood group is a singular and uncommon phenomena that has drawn the interest of both medical practitioners and researchers. Its scarcity highlights the significance of thorough blood typing and donor matching processes, as do the possible difficulties associated with organ transplants and transfusions. The identification of the Bombay blood group adds to our knowledge of the complexities of human blood systems and emphasises the vital role that blood donation plays in both maintaining and saving lives. The Bombay blood group continues to be a symbol of the continual investigation of the human body and the continuous search for better medical treatments as scientific advances in medicine continue.
