Specific Blood Types Research Articles

Association Between ABO Blood Group, Dental Caries, Gingivitis, Impacted Teeth and Malocclusion Among Saudi Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Whether there is a relationship between blood group and the likelihood of acquiring oral diseases. Therefore, the present study investigated the potential association between ABO blood groups and various dental conditions, including dental caries, gingivitis, malocclusion, and impacted teeth, in Saudi adults aged 18 years and older. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 participants who met the inclusion criteria. Data collection included assessment of dental caries status using the decayed missing filled teeth (DMFT) and decayed missing filled surfaces (DMFS) indices, evaluation of gingivitis using the Gingival Index, classification of malocclusion according to Angle's classification system, and recording the presence or absence of impacted teeth. The AB blood group had the significantly highest mean DMFS score (8.58±6.63), while the O blood group had the lowest mean DMFS score (6.37±4.43). Additionally, blood group O showed a slightly higher prevalence of gingivitis (51.92%) than the other blood groups. Blood group A demonstrated a higher prevalence of both Class II (34.2%) and Class III (19%) malocclusions, with statistically significant differences. Regarding impacted teeth, blood group AB (48.8%) had the highest occurrence. There exists an association between oral disease and ABO blood group in Saudi adults. The results of this study indicate that individuals with specific blood types may be more prone to oral diseases, which can aid in the early diagnosis and prevention of these conditions.

Blood Group Detection Using Image Processing

During medical crises, access to an ample blood supply is crucial for saving lives. Shortages of required blood types in hospitals can result in significant delays in patient treatment. To tackle this urgent issue, we introduce BloodHub, an extensive web platform designed to streamline blood search, availability assessment, and compatibility determination using Support Vector Machines (SVM). BloodHub acts as a centralized hub where both donors and recipients can register and participate in the blood donation process. The platform offers a user-friendly interface for individuals in need of blood donations, enabling them to locate specific blood types nearby. Additionally, BloodHub provides real-time updates on blood unit availability across registered blood banks and donation centers, simplifying the procurement process for healthcare facilities and emergency responders. One of BloodHub's standout features is its SVM- powered blood group detection capability. By examining genetic markers in blood samples, SVM algorithms accurately identify donors' blood groups, ensuring compatibility with recipient needs. This functionality not only improves blood-matching efficiency but also reduces the risk of transfusion-related complications. Moreover, BloodHub implements robust security measures to protect user privacy and confidentiality.

Association of vaccine status, reinfections, and risk factors with Long COVID syndrome

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound global impact, characterized by a high fatality rate and the emergence of enduring consequences known as Long COVID. Our study sought to determine the prevalence of Long COVID syndrome within a population of Northeastern Mexico, correlating it with patients' comorbidities, number of COVID-19 reinfection, and vaccination status. Employing an observational cross-sectional approach, we administered a comprehensive questionnaire covering medical history, demographics, vaccination status, COVID-related symptoms, and treatment. Our participant cohort included 807 patients, with an average age of 41.5 (SD 13.6) years, and women accounting 59.3% of the cohort. The follow-up was 488 (IQR 456) days. One hundred sixty-eight subjects (20.9%) met Long COVID criteria. Long COVID-19 was more prevalent when subjects had reinfections (p = 0.02) and less frequent when they had a complete vaccination scheme (p = 0.05). Through logistic regression, we found that male gender (OR 0.5, p ≤ 0.001), blood types of AB− (OR 0.48, p = 0.003) and O− (OR 0.27, p ≤ 0.001) in comparison with A+ and two doses of vaccines (OR 0.5, p = 006) to be protective factors against Long COVID; while higher BMI (OR 1.04, p = 0.005) was a risk factor. We saw that the prevalence of Long COVID was different within vaccinated patients and specific blood types, while being female and a higher BMI were associated with an increased risk of having long-COVID.

Examining the association between malaria infection and the occurrence of ABO/Rhesus and hemoglobin variants in patients at a tertiary hospital in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

The spread of the ABO-Rh blood group and the haemoglobin genotype differs widely between racial and ethnic groupings. Patterns could fluctuate over time within the same community in various regions of the globe, which might indicate that a specific blood type gave resistance to an infectious illness. Therefore, it is crucial to have accurate and current information on how these blood types are distributed across human demographics. A total of 451 individuals were chosen at random, ranging in age from 1 to 15 years. The sample size was selected utilising Cochran sample size calculation as well as a rate of plasmodium in youngsters in Port Harcourt of 60.6%. Using a normal phlebotomy method, 2 ml of venous blood was extracted with little immobility within sterile circumstances from the dorsum of the hand or ante-cubital vein, as the occasion may indeed be. Employing thick and thin Giemsa-stained blood smears, malaria density was evaluated microscopically. The genotype of haemoglobin was determined using cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis in Tris-EDTA borate buffer (PH 8.9). Atlas Medical ABO reagent was used to identify ABO blood type qualitatively. Data management and statistical analyses were carried out using the Statistical Analyses System SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina, USA), with p values less than.05 deemed statistically significant. Four hundred fifty-one (451) people took part in this study. The amount of research participants (394) tested rhesus positive (87.4%). Amongst ABO variations, blood type B+ 8 (32%), A+ 7 (28%), and O+ 6 (24%), were shown to be higher common with complex plasmodium. Blood type O+ 198 (46.48) was by far the most common of simple ABO/Rhesus + blood groups, followed by B+ 97(22.77%) and A+ 72 (22.77%). (16.90). Similarly, among ABO/Rhesus negative blood groups with uncomplicated falciparum malaria, blood group O- predominated with 41 (9.62%). A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, O+, and O- blood types of class for uncomplicated plasmodium species load revealed a mean of 18114.03/l, 52760.10/l, 20021.47/l, 3428.33/l, 11084.33/l, 12460.34/l, and 4445.59/l in the identical sequence, with O- exhibiting the least susceptibility to malaria. In addition, for uncomplicated malaria parasite density, the haemoglobin genotype status indicated a mean of 113073.44/l, 111435.65/l, and 107250.3/1l for AA, AS, and SS in the same order, with AA indicating the highest sensitivity to plasmodium. The prevalence of haemoglobin genotypes AA, AS, and SS in the study participants was 72.5%, 20.6%, and 6.9%, respectively. Men made up 54.5% (246/451), although females made up 45.5% (205/451). The haemoglobin genotype AA predominated, with men (178) outnumbering girls (149), followed by AS (56 vs 37) and SS (12 against 31), correspondingly. The most frequent ABO blood type was O (54.3%), second by B (24.6%), A (19.7%), and AB (1.3%). The bulk of Rh+ blood cells (87.4%) were found in the Rh bloodstream. The bulk of Rh bloodstream (87.4%) were Rh+, whereas 12.6% comprised Rh. O+ (45.2%), B+ (23.3%), A+ (17.5%), O- (9.1%), A- (2.2%), AB+ (1.3%), B- (1.3%), and AB (0%) were always the mixed ABO and Rh blood types. Men’s blood groups B+ (60), B- (4), AB+ (4), and O+ (112) were significantly higher than female blood groups B+ (45), B- (2), AB+ (2), and O+ (94), whereas female blood groups A- (7) and O- (23) were higher than male blood types A- (2) and O- (23) (16).

Association of Different ABO and Rh Blood Groups with the Erythroprotective Effect of Extracts from Navicula incerta and Their Anti-Inflammatory and Antiproliferative Properties.

Previous studies have reported that different blood groups are associated with the risk of chronic degenerative diseases that mainly involve inflammation and neoplastic processes. We investigate the relationship between blood groups and the erythroprotective effect of extracts from Navicula incerta against oxidative damage as a proposal to develop drugs designed for people with a specific blood type related to chronic pathology. The study was carried out through the elucidation of the erythroprotective potential, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activity of Navicula incerta. Research suggests that the presence or absence of certain blood groups increases or decreases the abilities of certain phytochemicals to inhibit oxidative stress, which is related to the systemic inflammatory response involved in the development of different types of cancer. The pigment-rich extracts from Navicula incerta inhibit ROO•- induced oxidative stress in human erythrocytes on the A RhD+ve antigen without compromising the structure of the cell membrane. This result is very important, since the A antigen is related to the susceptibility of contracting prostate cancer. Similarly, it was possible to inhibit the proliferation of cervical (HeLa) and prostate (PC-3) carcinoma. The combinatorial analysis of different biological activities can help design phytochemicals as new candidates for preventive drugs treating the chronic degenerative diseases associated with a specific blood group.

ABO rs657152 and Blood Groups Are as Predictor Factors of COVID-19 Mortality in the Iranian Population.

Several studies have discovered a relationship between specific blood types, genetic variations of the ABO gene, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association between ABO rs657152 polymorphisms and ABO blood groups with COVID-19 mortality. The tetraprimer amplification refractory mutation system, polymerase chain reaction method, was used for ABO rs657152 polymorphism genotyping in 1,211 dead and 1,442 improved patients. In the current study, the frequency of ABO rs657152 AA than CC genotypes was significantly higher in dead patients than in improved patients. Our findings indicated that blood type A was associated with the highest risk of COVID-19 mortality compared to other blood groups, and patients with blood type O have a lower risk of infection, suggesting that blood type O may be a protective factor against COVID-19 mortality. Multivariate logistic regression test indicated that higher COVID-19 mortality rates were linked with alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, high density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, fasting blood glucose, uric acid, creatinine, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, real-time PCR Ct values, ABO blood groups, and ABO rs657152 AA genotype. In conclusion, the AA genotype of ABO rs657152 and blood type A were associated with a considerably increased frequency of COVID-19 mortality. Further research is necessary to validate the obtained results.

Computer-Based Blood Type Identification Using Image Processing and Machine Learning Algorithm

Blood type identification is a method used for determining the specific blood type of a person. It is a requirement before blood transfusions or blood donations is undertaken especially during emergency situations. Presently, the tests are performed manually by medical technologists in the laboratories. Sometimes, manual blood typing is prone to human error, resulting to incorrect blood grouping and wrong typing in the report, leading to fatal transfusion reactions. The study was focused on the development of a device that is capable of identifying the blood type of an individual using an image processing and machine learning algorithms. The study covered the identification of eight blood types, specifically rhesus positive and negative, A, B, O, and AB, by developing a capturing box integrated with a web camera system that could effectively capture blood sample images. In this study, the methodologies utilized were image processing through segmentation, feature extraction by color and texture properties, and different machine learning algorithms. After training, the results showed that coarse tree DT has the best performance accuracy score of 97.77% using 70:30 holdout validation. The testing results showed that the system is 100% accurate as validated by a registered medical technologist.

Distribution of ABO And Rh Blood Groups in Blood Donors at the Tertiary Care Centre, Dahod

Introduction When it comes to blood transfusion and transplant medicine, the ABO as well as Rh blood group system are significant. There have been 700 RBC antigens found so far, and they've been divided into 30 blood groups as a result. For example, blood transfusion reaction, paternity testing, legal medicine, as well as associations with different illnesses are all medicolegally relevant when looking at ABO and Rh. Aim: The objective was to find out how much demand there is for a specific blood type compared to how much supply there is in society, to lower death rates caused by a shortage of that kind of blood. Compare the results with those from another comparable research performed in India and across the globe. Material and Methods: Between August 2018 to July 2021, researchers conducted a study on 7820 blood donors who visited the Zydus blood Centre. Tube agglutination testing and the Gel card method were used to find the patient's ABO as well as Rh blood groups. Both reverse as well as forward blood grouping methods are performed and confirmed only if both are identical. The age and sex groups as well as frequency of ABO and Rh blood groups were reported in percentages. Result The male-to-female ratio in our research was 30:1. The greatest number of male and female donors were between the ages of 18 to 30 years. For blood donation, it has been found that "O" blood donors are the most predominant, then those with B>A>AB blood groups. According to voluntary and replacement blood donors, AB & A blood groups are more (%) in replacement blood donors as compare to O and B blood groups. Voluntary donors are 33.67% and replacement donors were 66.64%. Distribution of Rh+ve and Rh-ve blood groups in our study was 98.78% and 1.22% respectively. Conclusion It is essential to have a thorough understanding of the distinct blood groups distribution for ensuring that blood as well as its components are always available to recipients in a particular area. The present work will provide insight on a deficiency of particular blood groups, in a particular area, like A and AB blood group are more in replacement donor showing deficiency of that blood groups in this area in our study.

Association of ABO blood group with COVID-19 severity, acute phase reactants and mortality.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the ongoing pandemic with multitude of manifestations and association of ABO blood group in South-East Asian population needs to be explored. It was a retrospective study of patients with COVID-19. Blood group A, B, O, and AB were identified in every participant, irrespective of their RH type and allotted groups 1, 2,3, and 4, respectively. Correlation between blood group and lab parameters was presented as histogram distributed among the four groups. Multivariate regression and logistic regression were used for inferential statistics. The cohort included 1067 patients: 521 (48.8%) participants had blood group O as the prevalent blood type. Overall, 10.6% COVID-19-related mortality was observed at our center. Mortality was 13.9% in blood group A, 9.5% in group B, 10% in group C, and 10.2% in AB blood group (p = 0.412). IL-6 was elevated in blood group A (median [IQR]: 23.6 [17.5,43.8]), Procalcitonin in blood group B (median [IQR]: 0.54 [0.3,0.7]), D-dimers and CRP in group AB (median [IQR]: 21.5 [9,34]; 24 [9,49], respectively). Regarding severity of COVID-19 disease, no statistical difference was seen between the blood groups. Alteration of the acute phase reactants was not positively associated with any specific blood type. In conclusion, this investigation did not show significant association of blood groups with severity and of COVID-19 disease and COVID-19-associated mortality.

Agglutination Effect of Selected Medicinal Plant Leaf Crude Extracts on A-B-O Blood Group

This study was conducted to test the agglutinating properties of leaf crude extracts of selected plants on human A-B-O blood group. The experimental plants used were as follows: kasapi-sapi (<i>Ageratum conyzoides L.</i>), Vicks (<i>Origanum vulgare L.</i>), Sabi (<i>Chenopodium ambrosioides L.</i>), Dunggaw (<i>Bryophylum pinnata L.</i>). The blood types of the 90 blood donors were pre-determined using the commercially available anti-sera A and B. Each blood samples were tested with the four plant leaf crude extracts for the agglutination reaction and were examined under the microscope. Presence of agglutination of red blood cells was marked as positive and absence of such reaction was marked as negative. The result had shown that kasapi-sapi (<i>A. conyzoides L.</i>) and Sabi (<i>C. ambrosioides L.</i>) did not cause agglutination of red blood cells in any of the human blood types. Dunggaw (<i>B. pinnata L.</i>) and Vicks (<i>O. vulgare L.</i>) leaf crude extracts did cause agglutination of the red blood cells from the donors, but, not to a specific blood type. Thus, none of the experimental plants could serve as a substitute for commercially produced anti-sera but could serve as first aid during emergency cases to stop excessive bleeding.

Blood Bank Connect Android Application

In today's globalized world the surge of smartphones and social networking sites across the world has increased rapidly, which has also become one of the most efficient ways to solve problems. Blood is an important constituent of the human body also known as the RIVER OF LIFE. Blood banks oftentimes suffer from a shortage of blood; therefore, advertisements are frequently seen on social networks urging healthy individuals to donate blood. With a growing population and advances in medical treatments and procedures requiring blood transfusions, the demand for blood continues to increase. To resolve this, communication between the hospital, blood bank, donor, and the receptor is important. Emergencies, like accidents, create an immediate, critical need for specific blood types. Despite increasing requirements for blood, only about 7% of the Indian population donates blood. Hence, we developed a new idea, just a touch away. Donors will be prompted to enter individual details, like name, phone number, and blood type thus facilitating the search process. One can quickly check for contacts matching related blood groups and reach out to them via Phone call/SMS through the Blood Bank application. This application is based on location (GPS), operational on an android platform, has a vision towards making the most important fluid running in our body available to everyone.

Survey of Blood Groups DEA 1, DEA 4, DEA 5, Dal, and Kai 1/Kai 2 in Different Canine Breeds From a Diagnostic Laboratory in Germany.

More than twelve blood group systems have been described in dogs, but little is known about their distribution frequencies within breed populations. Here, we report on an extensive typing survey carried out using available reagents and either established or new clinical kits in purebred dogs from Germany. Leftover anticoagulated blood samples were examined using an immunochromatographic strip method for DEA 1, a gel column technique for Dal and Kai 1/2, and new card agglutination tests for DEA 4 and DEA 5 (which were partially compared with the gel column technique). Monoclonal antibodies were used for DEA 1 and Kai 1/2 typing, and polyclonal antibodies were used for all other types. Among the 206 dogs, 59.2% were DEA 1+, 100% DEA 4+, 9% (Card)/11% (Gel) DEA 5+, 89.3% Dal+, 96.6% Kai 1+, and 2.9% Kai 2+. None of the dogs were Kai 1+/2+, and only one was Kai 1–/2–. Dal– dogs were found in several breeds. Erythrocytes from most DEA 1+ dogs bound strongly on the strips. The agglutination reactions for DEA 5 on the new card tests were generally less than those on the gel column. The blood group pattern DEA 4+, DEA 5–, Dal+, Kai 1+/2– and either DEA 1+ or DEA 1– was found among 80% of the dogs. In this first extensive blood typing survey of purebred dogs from Europe, the proportions of positive and negative blood types were similar to those found in the United States and, for DEA 1, were also similar to those from other European countries, with considerable breed variation in blood types. The newer typing techniques seem to work well and will likely be useful for detecting and preventing specific blood type incompatibilities in the clinic.

Barriers and motivators of Ghanaian and African-Surinamese migrants to donate blood.

African migrants are underrepresented as blood donors in many Western countries, which can lead to shortages of specific blood types for transfusion. More insight in the reasons for this underrepresentation is required to improve blood donor recruitment and retention strategies. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore barriers and motivators for donating blood among migrants of African background. The research population consisted of first and second generation African‐Surinamese (n = 20) and Ghanaian (n = 16) migrants living in the Netherlands. In semi‐structured personal interviews performed in 2016 and 2017, their experiences and opinions regarding blood donation, barriers, and motivators to (not) become a blood donor and their suggestions to improve recruitment were explored. Data collection was continued until data saturation was achieved. The interviews revealed that although all participants knew about blood donation in general, only four had previously heard of the Dutch national blood bank organisation. Participants expected that if blood was needed, the blood bank would directly approach them, as in their country of origin. Other main blood donation barriers were fear (e.g., of needles, losing too much blood) and issues related to health and non‐eligibility to donate. Main motivators were mainly of altruistic nature (e.g., saving a life) and an increased awareness of the need via personal recruitment appeals. It is concluded that expectations regarding donor recruitment—derived from the country of origin—and unawareness of the need for blood can act as important barriers in blood donation among African migrants. Contrary to studies in the United States and Australia, perceived discrimination and social exclusion did not seem to be a donation deterrent among migrants in the Netherlands. Creating awareness of the need of blood by actively approaching, and informing migrants about the donation procedure in the host country, should be considered by blood banks.

Blood donation barriers and facilitators of Sub-Saharan African migrants and minorities in Western high-income countries: a systematic review of the literature.

SUMMARYObjectivesThe present study aimed to gain more insight into, and summarise, blood donation determinants among migrants or minorities of Sub‐Saharan heritage by systematically reviewing the current literature.BackgroundSub‐Saharan Africans are under‐represented in the blood donor population in Western high‐income countries. This causes a lack of specific blood types for transfusions and prevention of alloimmunisation among Sub‐Saharan African patients.Methods/materialsMedline, EMBASE, PsycINFO and BIOSIS were searched for relevant empirical studies that focused on barriers and facilitators of blood donation among Sub‐Saharan Africans in Western countries until 22 June 2017. Of the 679 articles screened by title and abstract, 152 were subsequently screened by full text. Paired reviewers independently assessed the studies based on predefined eligibility and quality criteria.ResultsOf the 31 included studies, 24 used quantitative and 7 used qualitative research methods. Target cohorts varied from Black African Americans and refugees from Sub‐Sahara Africa to specific Sub‐Saharan migrant groups such as Comorians or Ethiopians. Main recurring barriers for Sub‐Saharan Africans were haemoglobin deferral, fear of needles and pain, social exclusion, lack of awareness, negative attitudes and accessibility problems. Important recurring facilitators for Sub‐Saharan Africans were altruism, free health checks and specific recruitment and awareness‐raising campaigns.ConclusionThe findings of this review can be used as a starting point to develop recruitment and retention strategies for Sub‐Saharan African persons. Further research is needed to gain more insight in the role of these determinants in specific contexts as socioeconomic features, personal histories and host country regulations may differ per country.

Blood banks meet the paradox of Gabriel's Horn: what are the options to maintain supply as demand decreases?

Blood services worldwide have observed a decline in the demand for red blood cells (RBC). Despite this general decline, the demand profile has changed significantly with the demand for O D negative RBCs being maintained; whereas B D positive and AB D positive RBC demand has been reduced. In 2015, the blood type O D negative was seen in 6·3% of the combined first time donors among the five American Blood Centres involved in this study and 7·4% of first time Australian donors in 2014/2015, whereas O D negative distributions accounted for 10·5% of all red cell units issued by the American centres and 13·9% by the Australian centres. Inventory can therefore be of sufficient overall quantity but may not be adequate for the demand for units with specific blood types. Recruitment of new donors may need to become more targeted and/or financial or inventory control measures could also be required to ensure inventory matches demand. Blood Services will need to consider the available options in order to ensure that sufficiency of supply is secure and the donor panel is optimised to meet the new demand paradigm.

Blood typing for families: a novel hybrid human–computer application

Crowdsourcing is a new approach which obtains information or input for a particular task by enlisting the services of the crowd. In recent crowdsourcing applications, the hybrid human–computer approach has been widely studied, to take advantage of both human beings and computers. In this paper, we propose a novel such application: blood typing for people in a family. We propose the BloodTyping method. It selects some members to take medical blood type tests, and to determine other family members' blood types, based on the inheritance rules. The aim is to reduce the number of medical tests, and thus, lower the cost. We extract rules for both +induction and − induction. The former is to predict children's blood types from parents', and the latter is to backward-induce a parent's blood type, given those of children and the other parent. Different combinations of blood types can induce different results: some may be an exact blood type, while others are composed of several blood types. Our method is optimised by conducting the cases which generate exact blood types first. The order is guided by extra-information via crowdsourcing, including the distribution of blood types with respect to the birthplace, and the personality, which may indicate some specific blood types. Taking a family with two parents and all children as a basic unit, the algorithm can be conducted simultaneously among different families in a decentralised way. The simulation results show that BloodTyping can significantly reduce the required number of blood tests.

A stock‐and‐flow simulation model of the US blood supply

Lack of reporting requirements for the amount of blood stored in blood banks and hospitals poses challenges to effectively monitor the US blood supply. Effective strategies to minimize collection and donation disruptions in the supply require an understanding of the daily amount of blood available in the system. A stock-and-flow simulation model of the US blood supply was developed to obtain estimates of the daily on-hand availability of blood, with uncertainty and by ABO/Rh type. The model simulated potential impact on supply of using different blood management practices for transfusion: first in-first out (FIFO), using the oldest stored red blood cell units first; non-FIFO likely oldest, preferentially selecting older blood; and non-FIFO likely newest, preferentially selecting younger blood. Simulation results showed higher estimates of the steady-state of the blood supply level for FIFO (1,630,000 units, 95% prediction interval [PI] 1,610,000-1,650,000) than non-FIFO scenarios (likely oldest, 1,530,000 units, 95% PI 1,500,000-1,550,000; and likely newest, 1,190,000 units, 95% PI 1,160,000-1,220,000), either for overall blood or by blood types. To our knowledge, this model represents a first attempt to evaluate the impact of different blood management practices on daily availability and distribution of blood in the US blood supply. The average storage time before blood is being issued was influenced by blood management practices, for preferences of blood that is younger and also that use specific blood types. The model also suggests which practice could best approximate the current blood management system and may serve as useful tool for blood management.

Lack of Association between Parental ABO Blood Type and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Lack of Association between Parental ABO Blood Type and Autism Spectrum Disorders

How do I manage a blood shortage in a transfusion service?

A lthough there are more than 16 million blood donations per year provided to more than 4 million recipients, blood shortages have recurred for decades with amazing periodicity, approximately twice every year, in the summer months over 4th of July and Labor Day and during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Anyone with any experience at blood centers or transfusion services is quite accustomed to these expected shortages. The requirement for transfusions continues to increase approximately 5 to 7 percent per year without a similar increase in donations. This fact together with the “graying” of the population will require even more donations compounded by the increasing expansions of programs requiring considerable transfusion support, for example, liver transplantations. Increasing numbers of donor rejections due to stricter donor eligibility based on real or perceived infectious threats to the blood supply, for example, Chagas disease and human herpes virus 8, and units failing additional testing will only make such shortages inevitable for the foreseeable future. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, stimulated many to question our blood supply’s readiness to deal with potential disasters in the future. Many organizations, including the American Red Cross, America’s Blood Centers (ABC), and government agencies, produce weekly data showing that blood centers and hospitals each maintain (on average) a 3to 5-day supply of red cells (RBCs) creating an estimated 10-day reserve of RBCs. The July 7, 2006, ABC Newsletter, however, revealed only 40 to 50 percent of their centers maintained an RBC supply of 3 days or more! No data are available for platelets (PLTs) or other components. The RBC inventories are only averages, however, and “spot” shortages of specific blood types, D–, and blood components are hidden within these averages as are the “routinely” accepted serologic substitutions of D+ products to RH– men and women unable to conceive and commonly substituting group O RBCs and PLTs for patients with A/B/AB blood types. Little can be found in the literature on how to deal with these difficult shortages from a blood center but especially from a transfusion service perspective. When any blood shortage occurs, the transfusion service’s medical director will be expected to minimize its negative impact on his or her hospital’s transfusion activities regardless of how other hospitals might respond. Many of my comments and thoughts were stimulated by facilitating the Physicians for the Advancement of Transfusion Medicine meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2004.

Improving minority blood donation: anthropologic approach in a migrant community

As a result of blood group polymorphism, distinctive blood types have evolved in populations around the world. In countries with large migrant populations, finding rare blood types for transfusion can be challenging. This is especially true for sub-Saharan African immigrants living in countries with predominantly European populations. This problem is further compounded by hereditary disorders such as sickle cell disease and by traditional cultural values that discourage routine donation. The purpose of this report is to describe the drive to recruit more safe rare blood type donors in a Comorian immigrant community living in Marseilles, France. With a culturally adapted message developed on an anthropologic approach and working in close collaboration with scientific and medical members of the Comorian community, it is proposed that this population be sensitized with the gift of blood. Targeted collection of specific sub-Saharan African blood types was achieved. Taking into account the high rate of infectious markers among products collected in this targeted collection, however, it was decided to promote blood donation in this minority by addressing people directly toward our principal blood center site. Since setup of this adapted communication, regular donors present themselves spontaneously without community pressure. Infectious markers rate is then equal to general blood donor population's rate. The results of this drive demonstrate the utility of an anthropologic approach and cultural mediation in identifying donors with specific blood types in migrant communities and recruiting second-generation donors. The techniques described in this study could also be applied to collection of other tissues including organs and peripheral blood progenitor cells in minorities.