PETALING JAYA: A woman from Terengganu who has the rarest blood type in the world, wants her identity kept secret following news that she is one of 43 people in the whole world, and the only one in Malaysia, with the unique blood type.
The woman conveyed her wish to a Terengganu blood bank, her representative told FMT.
The woman became the focus of public attention after she was reported as having the extremely rare Rh-null (Rhesus null) blood type.
The public’s desire to know more about the woman, however, was obstructed by the blood bank at her request.
“We cannot give information on the blood donor because she is not ready to be interviewed and has asked for her identity to be kept secret,” the Terengganu Kite blood bank posted on its Facebook page.
According to medical portals, the Rh-null blood type which is also known as “golden blood”, is reported to pose a great risk to its host but has the ability to save millions of people.
“Golden blood” is special in that it can be accepted by anyone because of its unique properties.
According to the Terengganu Kite blood bank, the local woman began actively donating blood in 2016.
“We identified her blood type from a blood group test, and her test results were sent to an overseas laboratory for confirmation,” the blood bank explained.
The woman’s blood was later sent to the National Blood Centre to be frozen and stored in a nitrogen box at a temperature of -80°C, for 10 years.
“If there are patients who need this type of blood, it will be diluted for use,” the administrator said, without elaborating any further.
The woman became a subject of interest after a photo of her donating blood went viral on social media.
According to Medical News Today, the Rh-null blood type is unique due to the absence of any Rh antigens (proteins) in the red blood cells.
To date, only nine people with this blood type are active donors around the world, including the local woman.
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