OT: Anyone here with rare blood?

Dave VG

Dave VG

New member
Hello fellow reefers. I don't quite know where to start so I guess I'll just get to the point. My wife has been fighting cancer on and off for the last 3 years. During this latest battle the chemo has been extremely rough on her physically but more so on her blood counts. So for her to continue her fight she needs blood transfusions but even that has become a problem as we just found out she has developed an extremely rare blood antigen caused from of all things previous transfusions. Two weeks ago she needed 2 units but being that it is so rare it took the Red Cross over a week to find it which brings me to the point of this post. One of them came from Wisconsin and the other from Rochester, NY. So I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone here on RC that's from in or around Rochester has rare blood or knows someone with rare blood. I know blood type is not usually the topic of conversation but if you could maybe ask around to family and friends that would be great. If anyone does it would be marked on there card as rare blood donor with the type. So I'm hoping that maybe someone here has or knows of someone that holds one of these cards and would be willing to share there blood info. Please PM me with any info. She has been through soooooo much through the last few years and It's just one struggle after another with this beast.
 
Not that I know of, but if you know of someplace near Freeland I could get tested, I would go.
 
What type exactly are you looking for? I can ask around the EMS community but I think most people I know already donate or have recently been exposed to MRSA or ORSA.
 
Thank you both for the response and offer. Should have put this in the first post sorry the type is O- with an antigen attached, the cymbal for it is a little c with a line over top. Sorry no Dr. The way it was explained to us is to develop this type you would have had to have had a blood transfusion. So if either of you have had blood transfusions yes you may have this type and you could get tested for it at the Red Cross for free. Also if either of you have given blood to the red cross or had a blood test they would have told you you have it and would have given you a card saying Rare Donor and the type so check your cards if you have one. You know I hate putting this out there as I'm a pretty private guy but there is a slight chance there is someone or possibly someone here that knows of someone that has this rare blood in the Rochester area. Hell maybe someone from a Wisconsin RC club will read this that has or knows of someone where the other one came from. Thanks again guys.
 
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O- with an antigen attached

O- with an antigen attached

this is critical info.

I'll ask around.
If it were MY wife I'd leave no stone unturned. Do not be embarrassed to ask for help.. this isn't something you can provide on your own!
 
I gave a bunch of blood \ plasma. Recently found out the red cross wont take my blood due to a false positive to hep 20 yrs ago when i was 16. It sucks, o pos , and i don't mind donating at all.
 
Could you maybe elaborate more on the antigen part..such as the ONLY way to get it is if you have had a transfusion? Is that iron clad..my whole family is O- but none of us have ever had a transfusion.
 
Like I said I'm no Doctor but here goes. It's when you get a foreign antigen (someone else's) during a transfusion and it is not recognized as a foreign and potentially harmful invader and instead of your body killing it it"˜s accepted by your body and creates a new antigen combo hence little c with a line over it. Hope I got it right and helps you all understand it better.


Hope this link is legal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigen
 
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Thanks for the additional info..will put this out to extended family but I honestly don't know of anyone having had a transfusion..sad..so many of my family are O- but doubt we will be any help.
 
my wife has O- but im not sure about the blood transfusion, we had a mis-c and she was given blood and all went well, let us know if theres anything we can do other than keep you and your wife in our prayers
 
Does anyone have any contacts with the media? If someone could get a local (Rochester) tv, radio, or newspaper to run a story about the search for the rare blood type, it's certain a larger audience would be reached. I contacted a friend who is interning at WHAM-13, but as he's only been there a week, I'm not sure if he would feel comfortable pitching a news idea. Anyone else know anyone?
 
O- but never had any transfusions, and i dont think i could donate because of my cancer history myself, good luck on your search and ill keep ya in my prayers, cancer blows
 
Ok so all the info we were getting was from the nurses at the hospital infusion center where she gets the blood. Yesterday I talked directly someone at the red cross and expressed my concerns. I asked if I should put some feelers out just in case something happens and she needed it like right now now. They told me not to worry about it that they have all her compatible donors in there database. They also said if it ever got to a point where it was needed like that, that there is a procedure for radiating it so that it could be used but only if it was a dire emergency. What a whirlwind going on in my brain right now. Thanks everyone
 
Glad to hear that the Red Cross has a way to meet your wife's needs even if no rare blood is available. I can only image the stress this has caused you and her. I wish your wife the best and will keep her in my prayers.
 
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