Doctors at Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) recently performed a successful coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) on a 52-year-old man with the rare h/h blood group, commonly referred to as the ‘Bombay blood group’, after a ten-day state-wide hunt to identify blood donors.
When G. Sakthivel of Madurai approached GRH with cardiac issues, the doctors suggested that he undergo the bypass without delay, as he had ‘triple vessel disease’ - blockages in all the three major vessels that supply blood to the heart.
Even as arrangements for the surgery were being made, it was revealed that Mr. Sakthivel, who the doctors thought had O +ve blood group, had the rare Bombay blood group, which has a one in a million presence in the population.
M. Sintha, Associate Professor and Head of Transfusion Medicine at GRH, said it was common to wrongly identify Bombay blood group as O group. “Generally, tests are done only for the presence of A and B antigens. If both are not present, it is assumed as O group,” Ms. Sintha said.
However, an additional test is done prior to surgery for the presence of H antigens. “O group patients have H antigens. Bombay blood group patients do not have that and hence cannot accept blood from any other group,” she said.
In Mr. Sakthivel’s case, Ms. Sintha said the hospital contacted blood bank networks across the State to identify donors, and the surgery needed at least four units.
“Luckily, there was a similar case a few years ago when five donors were found. Though, they were not in a position to donate, they helped in identifying others in their families,” Ms. Sintha said, adding that help also came from a Salem-based volunteer, Selvaraj, who had contacts of Bombay blood group individuals.
After a ten-day search, four donors – Muthukumaran, Kalaiselvan and Prakash from Madurai district and Ayyanar from Ramanathapuram district – were found.
The Dean of GRH, Dr. M.R. Vairamuthu Raju, said that the four donors were happy to donate.
Increased awareness and maintenance of a State-wide database would help in easy handling of such situations, he said.
