The NHS has launched a pioneering initiative to identify and secure blood donations from individuals with rare blood types, ensuring patients receive “precision-matched” transfusions.
This UK-first drive aims to mitigate the risk of adverse reactions for those requiring blood.
Scientists have embarked on a large-scale research project, DNA-testing the blood of 77,000 donors to date.
Blood collected from these rare donors will be frozen, creating a vital reserve for others with the same specific blood type.
Crucially, this stored blood will also be available to the donor themselves, should they ever require a transfusion.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) underscores the critical importance of precise blood matching, citing the intricate nature of blood groups, with 362 known types.
The organisation stated that blood matching is “vital” given this complexity, highlighting the necessity of this new approach to enhance patient safety.
This is the first time that blood types have been DNA tested in the UK at-scale, NHSBT said.
Dozens of rare blood donors have been identified during the process and it is hoped the number will rise to hundreds.
This means that blood from these donors can be used as “personalised, precision-matched transfusion” for those in need.
This can help avoid severe transfusion reactions – where the body sees the transfused blood as “foreign” and rejects it.
People who are particularly at risk of these reactions are those who regularly receive blood donations including those with sickle cell disorder and thalassaemia.
Experts hailed the project as the “first major step” towards rolling out precision-matched blood more widely.
Dr Gail Miflin, chief medical officer at NHSBT, said: “Taking these 77,000 donors and testing their blood to such a precise level has been an incredible undertaking and will work to significantly change the way we issue blood – especially to those patients at higher risk of transfusion-related reactions.
“We will be able to match to an increasing number of blood groups, ensuring that patients have blood that is most similar to their own and reducing the risk of any reactions.
“It is an example of just how we are driving innovation which can radically improve patient outcomes.”
NHSBT’s genomics programme director, Kate Downes, added: “This inventory of blood will enhance our capacity to find units with rare blood groups for difficult to match patients as well as provide better matched units for patients who have an increased risk of transfusion reactions, aiding us in our mission to save and improve even more lives.
“This genotyping is a first major step towards rolling out precision-matched blood more widely, which would be a landmark change in how blood is matched.”
