Bombay Blood Group | 12 Feb 2025

Source: IE 

Why in News? 

A woman with the rare ‘Bombay’ (hh) blood group underwent a successful kidney transplant in India. 

What is Bombay Blood Group? 

• About: It was identified in Mumbai in 1952, and also called the hh blood group due to the absence of the H antigen. 
  • Antigens are proteins or carbohydrates on blood cells (RBCs, WBCs and platelets) that determine blood type. E.g., AB blood group has both A and B antigens, A has A antigens, B has B antigens, and O has none. 
  • In the Bombay blood group, a mutated or absent H antigen gene prevents A, B, or O antigen formation. 
• Rarity: It is exceptionally rare and found in approximately 1 in 10,000 Indians and 1 in a million people globally. 
• Problems in Blood Transfusion: Individuals with hh blood groups can't receive any A, B, AB or O blood, including O-negative, as they contain the H antigen. 
  • The recipient’s immune system recognizes donor antigens as foreign (antibodies), and triggers a severe immune reaction. 
• About Blood Group: Under the ABO blood group system, blood groups are classified into four common blood groups i.e. A, B, AB and O. 
  • It was first identified by Austrian immunologist Karl Landsteiner in 1901. 
• Cross-blood Transplants: Cross-blood transplants (donors and recipients have different blood types) uses double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) process for blood transfusion. 
  • In DFPP, the antibodies are removed from the recipient's (patient's) blood, using special filters for safer transfusion (suppress immune response). 
  • If the recipient antibodies are not removed, they can cause hemolysis (destruction of donor RBCs) after transfusion.