21 August 2010
By Sunitha Rao R
Bangalore, India
Boy Belongs To Rare Bombay Blood Group And Suffers From Thalassaemia
IN NEED OF HELP
This boy, hailing from a village near Davangere, is undergoing treatment at Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health and belongs to the rare Bombay Blood Group. In India, only one in 17,000 persons has this blood type. Kiran needs donors to save his life.
Kiran was brought to Bangalore early this week on the advice of Sankalp India Foundation, a blood bank that has a statewide network.
"My son was normal till he completed one year. Then, his head started growing big and he became inactive. Doctors told us he was weak. We are coolies and could not afford treatment," Renukamma, Kiran’s mother, told TOI. He went to school when he was five, but could not tolerate his classmates’ comments on his looks.
A normal person should have a haemoglobin level of more than 10 grams per decilitre. For thalassaemics, it should be more than 8 grams per decilitre, but Kiran has just 3.5, which is alarming.
Monthly Transfusion
According to Dr Vishwanath Veeranna, chief of transfusion medicine centres at the institute, Kiran requires blood transfusion at least once a month, throughout his life. "There is nothing abnormal about Kiran suffering from thalassaemia but his blood group. This makes treatment difficult as there are hardly any donors of this blood type. We have not found a single donor in our bank in the last 5-6 years with this type," he said.
"So far, we have found only 20 such persons in Karnataka. We arranged for one unit from a donor early this week, but are not able to find donors now," said Rajat Agarwal of Sankalp. Kiran’s parents are unaware of either the blood group or of complications due to thalassaemia. The blood bank has a similar request from a woman suffering from a medical complication, warranting a surgery.
What Is Bombay Blood Group?
Bombay Blood Group is present in people with O+ve blood group. But, O+ve and Bombay O+ve blood groups are different. It is present in about 0.0004% of human population. Individuals with this blood group can only be transfused with similar blood.
Are You Among The Few?
Those who are aware of persons with Bombay Blood Group can contact Sankalp helpline at 9480044444
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