World’s first rare blood group found in Bangalore woman

 This extraordinary finding came to light when she was admitted for cardiac surgery and her blood type was found to be incompatible with all available O-positive donor units, despite being categorised as O Rh+. 

The case was escalated to the Rotary Bangalore TTK Blood Centre and later to the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory (IBGRL) in the UK, leading to the identification of a new antigen – CRIB. This rare discovery has global significance, advancing rare blood group research, improving transfusion medicine safety, strengthening international collaboration, and enhancing future donor matching and transfusion compatibility worldwide.

The patient, initially identified as O Rh+; the most common blood group, required a routine transfusion ahead of cardiac surgery. However, none of the standard O-positive blood units were compatible. The hospital referred the case to the Advanced Immunohematology Reference Laboratory at the Rotary Bangalore TTK Blood Centre.

Using advanced serological testing, we found her blood was ‘panreactive’, meaning it reacted with all available samples. Recognising the likelihood of a rare or unidentified blood antigen, we tested 20 family members for compatibility, but none were a match,” noted Dr. Ankit Mathur from the Rotary Centre. Remarkably, her surgery was successfully completed without transfusion, and her samples were sent to IBGRL in Bristol, UK, for further analysis.