OneBlood needs donor for girl with rare blood type
OneBlood is looking for donors to help a little girl who’s fighting cancer and has an extremely rare blood type.
Two-year-old Zainab from South Florida has neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer. She also has a rare blood type, missing an antigen called Indian B or Inb.
So far, three matches have been found, but more donors are needed because Zainab’s treatment is ongoing.
To match, donors must meet the following criteria:
They must also be missing the Indian B antigen, or the little girl's body will reject the blood.
Must be exclusively Pakistani, Indian or Iranian descent, meaning the donor’s birth parents are both 100 percent Pakistani, Indian or Iranian.
Must be blood type “O” or “A”
All donations must be coordinated with OneBlood in advance to ensure the additional compatibility testing is performed. Visit www.oneblood.org/ zainab for donation information.
OneBlood said it is working closely with other blood centers and the American Rare Donor Program, an organization that searches the world for rare blood donors.
So far, three matching donors have been located, including a donor in the United Kingdom, near London. The other two matching donors are from the United States.
“While it’s promising the three donors have been located, additional donors are needed,” OneBlood said in a news release. “Zainab will need blood transfusions for the foreseeable future. … OneBlood is sharing Zainab’s story in the hopes more people who meet the specific donor criteria will come forward to donate for the little girl.”
So far, more than 1,000 donations have been tested and no additional matches have been identified, the nonprofit organization said.