For the first time a major event in the field of rare blood was held in the eastern Mediterranean region and Iran is the only Muslim country in the International Working Group for rare blood, said Ali Akbar Pourfathollah, head of Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO).
Blood supply to meet the needs of patients with rare and unusual blood groups is an important concern.
Rare blood groups got recognition in 1959. In 1985 the International Society of Blood transfusion (ISBT) international working group was formed in the context of rare blood.
The ISBT working group developed guidelines for standardization of activities including rare blood testing, labeling and transferring. It also developed a database with the cooperation of the international reference laboratory for blood group (IBGRL), Mehr news agency reported.
Screening
IBTO joined the working group in 2010, and till now Iran is the only Islamic country in the Eastern Mediterranean region in the group.
At present IBTO screens donated blood samples regularly for the detection of rare types of blood to meet the needs of patients with rare blood groups and since now, more than 20,000 blood samples were recognized using advanced automatic equipment.
Also IBTO reference laboratory of hematology has collected a national database consisting of 1,000 active rare blood donors and 31 provincial blood centers are participating in this project and supporting rare blood programs in Iran.
The international rare blood seminar began on September 17 in Tehran, and 15 representatives from the Eastern Mediterranean region attended the meet.
