A desperate appeal is underway to find a match for an Australian mother-of-two’s extremely rare blood type as she awaits urgent and life-saving open-heart surgery.
Adelaide mum Amira, 37, has a blood type so rare just one in 10,000 people might be a match, a figure officials say has prompted them to look overseas, after potentially “exhausting Australian supplies”.
The 37-year-old remains in hospital as Lifeblood, with the Australian Red Cross, hunt to source 20 bags of blood that the mum will require before, during and after her surgery.
Any O or A blood donor in Australia – or internationally – could be a match.
“Most people will be either O or A blood type, but Amira has a rare combination of other blood types that need to be matched, which means any donor with O or A blood type might prove to be a perfect match,” Lifeblood Medical Director Dr James Daly said.
“We have identified a few suitable donors, but this mum will require a large number of units to see her through her surgery and finding as many donors as we can with the right blood type will ensure we can meet her transfusion needs both now and, in the future.
“We’ve exhausted Australian supplies of this rare blood type and we’re now working with international blood services to search for potential donors.
“We hope to receive a small number of units from overseas but for Amira’s surgery to proceed safely at least 15 donors with the same rare combination of blood types are still needed within the next few weeks.”
Daly encouraged Aussies who think they’re a match to “book a donation over the coming week”, with all donated blood set to be “tested to identify donations that will undergo further screening to find a suitable match.”
Amira’s husband Ahmed echoed Daly’s sentiment and thanked those who had already donated.
“We are so grateful to family, friends and the wonderful people in the community, many of whom we do not know, who have heard about Amira’s plight and have rolled up a sleeve to donate blood,” he said.
“I urge as many people as possible across the country with O and A blood to donate blood this week, so we can find more donors to help Amira.
“This is not a situation you ever expect to find yourself in. Any help or support is much appreciated.”
To be a match for Amira a donor’s blood type must be “O” or “A”.
If a donor does not know their blood type, they should still donate to see if they are a possible match, Lifeblood says.
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