Every blood type is cool, but what if you could possess every one of them including O-type blood?
The Golden Blood
There are only 43 people in this world who have this rarest, life-saving blood running in their veins, and a Terengganu woman is one of them.
Very few people are aware of this blood type actually could ever exist. Even fewer people shared it.
It would be simple if we all shared the same ancestors. However, we do not. On the surface of each of our red blood cells, there are up to 342 antigens - molecules that can cause the development of specialized proteins known as antibodies.
The presence or absence of certain antigens defines a person's blood type, (A, B, AB, O) the ones you learned in Biology class or will in the future.
160 of the 342 blood group antigens have a 'high prevalence,' which implies they are present on the red blood cells of the majority of people. If you lack an antigen for which 99 percent of the world's population is positive, your blood is regarded rare. If you don't have one that 99.99 percent of the people have, you have extremely rare blood- the Golden Blood.
Why it is considered the most valuable blood in the world?
Well, the Golden Blood is not like our major types of blood. Is it something like Mahsuri? Erm, nope.
This rarest type of blood is recognized to be missing an entire blood group system making it “super friendly” to the other blood types. This blood is excellent for transfusion because it lacks common antigens, and it can be accepted by anyone who needs a transfusion without the risk of a blood transfusion reaction.
According to Scroll In, researchers unraveled that the Golden Blood or Rhnull blood can be considered ‘universal’ blood for anyone with unusual blood types within the Rh system, and its power to save lives is phenomenal.
Since it is limited and highly honored by doctors, the Golden Blood will only be given to patients in extreme circumstances and after great thought, because it may be nearly difficult to replace. "It's the golden blood," explains Dr. Thierry Peyrard, Director of the National Immunohematology Reference Laboratory in Paris.
Terengganu woman, Malaysia’s only 'Golden Blood'
Recently, Malaysia has been hit with the news of a Terengganu woman discovered to be having the rarest blood type in the world aka the ‘Golden Blood’.
According to a Facebook post by the Terengganu blood bank, the woman wants her identity to remain unknown following that she is one of 43 people in the whole world, with a unique blood type.
“This donor’s blood group is Rhnull, the rarest blood type in the world,
“We cannot give information on the blood donor because she is not ready to be interviewed and has asked for her identity to be kept secret,” the Terengganu Kite blood bank posted on its Facebook page.
“We identified her blood type from a blood group test, and her test results were sent to an overseas laboratory for confirmation,” the blood bank explained.
The woman’s blood was later sent to the National Blood Centre to be frozen and stored in a nitrogen box at a temperature of -80°C, for 10 years.
“If there are patients who need this type of blood, it will be diluted for use,” the administrator said, without elaborating any further.
The woman became an online sensation subject after a photo of her donating blood went viral on social media.
Rare blood type with the capability to save a thousand lives is beyond amazing and infinitely precious to medicine and science. But to consider if something happens to those who own Rhnull blood, their survival will be a ticking clock.
We wish everyone to stay safe and start saving lives through blood donation because we will never know how many lives need it!
*Sources: Visual and Reference Credits to Social Media, Free Malaysia Today, Medicine Net & various cross references for context.
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