23 Rare Blood Types Identified

So far, 23 rare blood types have been identified in the country, said the head of Iran Blood Transfusion Organization. “Iran is among the world’s 23 countries which has a successful transfusion program in place for rare blood groups,” said Ali Akbar Pourfathollah, ILNA reported. A rare blood donor match occurs one in every 1,000. The IBTO’s Immunohematology Reference Laboratory has developed a national database of 1,000 active rare donors to prevent shortages of rare donor blood units. Together with China and Japan, Iran is the third country from Asia to have become a member of the Rare Donors Working Group at the International Blood Transfusion Society.