BEIJING, July 25 -- Twenty-five local people with a rare blood type have made donations at the Shanghai Blood Center to help an 18-year-old woman from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region who needs a liver transplant.

    "All the blood samples are undergoing examination and the result will be known on Tuesday or Wednesday," said An Shuimeng, a center official. "After confirming the quantity of blood, the hospital will start the preparation for the surgery."

    The woman suffers from cirrhosis of the liver, but doctors have had to hold off on performing a transplant because she has Rh negative with AB blood, which is found in less than 1 in every 10,000 Asians.

    The woman isn't the only person in the city in need of rare blood. Jiang Jianhua, a local woman, said her husband is also waiting for some rare Rh negative A blood at Changhai Hospital.

    "He has congenital heart disease and the surgery was scheduled for the middle of this month. Doctors found he had rare blood before surgery and no one in the family has the same type," said Jiang. "Doctors have contacted the Shanghai Blood Center to collect blood for him. The surgery needs some 2 to 3 liters of blood. Doctors have taken 600 milliliters of his own blood to use during the surgery."

    Rh negative blood is very rare among Asians, as only three people in every 1,000 people have it. The blood bank normally keeps a daily storage of 4 liters of Rh negative and 600 milliliters is used every day on average.

    "Due to the lack of Rh negative blood, we normally send it to the most urgent patients. For people with selective surgery, we may need more time," An said. Enditem

(Source: Shanghai Daily News)