Rare blood donors are negative for a high prevalence antigen with a the frequency less than 1 in 1000 or can be negative for multiple more common antigens that are rarely found together. Examples of rare blood types include Rhnull, Bombay (Oh) and Jr(a-). Some blood groups are distributed differently in ethnic groups, finding a blood donor with the exact same blood type might be a huge challenge from the local population. Therefore, it is important to have international co-operation and accurate database on rare donors.

The ISBT International Rare Donor Panel – is managed by the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory - NHS Blood and Transplant and maintains rare blood lists provided by the ISBT WP rare donor members in order to ensure that patients who require lifesaving rare blood units can receive them. 

 

What we do

 

Current Leadership

Vered Yahalom

Vered Yahalom

Rare Donors Working Party Chair, Head of Department of Transfusion Medicine and Apheresis, Hadassah School of Medicine, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

Thierry Peyrard

Thierry Peyrard

Immunohaematology Working Party Chair, Rare Donors Vice Chair, Director, National Reference Department of Immunohematology and Rare Blood, French Blood Establishment (EFS), Paris, France

Inna Sareneva

Inna Sareneva

Rare Donors WP Secretary, Laboratory Specialist, Finnish Red Cross Blood Service, Helsinki, Finland

Tanya Powley

Tanya Powley

Rare Donors Working Party Treasurer, National Red Cell Reference Manager, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, Australia