Donors from Shanghai Panda Family Rare Blood Club, a local grassroots non-governmental organization of rare blood carriers.

 

A message looking for "panda blood" carriers was widely circulated on the internet last Tuesday after a woman severely injured in a car accident in Shanghai was found to have a rare Rh-negative blood type. Fortunately, nearly 60 donors rushed to the hospital and rolled up their sleeves to donate. Behind them was the efforts of a grassroots organization of Rh-negative blood type carriers. 

The victim, surnamed Chen, was in a complex and critical condition with fractured ribs, pelvis and hemorrhaging, and was rushed to Changhai Hospital on November 9. She was in urgent need of "panda blood," a nickname for the Rh-negative blood type in China, which, as the phrase suggests, is as rare as seeing a panda. 

Only three out of 1,000 people in China carry the Rh-negative blood type. Like common blood types, the Rh-negative blood types are further divided into A-, B-, AB- and O-negative, which makes the absolute number of carriers of a specific blood type even smaller. 

About 1,600 milliliters of O-negative blood was delivered from Shanghai Blood Center and hospitals across the city before it was transfused into the patient's body that day. However, stocks of the O-negative blood could not meet the need in follow-up surgeries involving the rare blood type. 

Nearly 60 donors hurried to the hospital and donated almost 6,000 milliliters of blood the next day, most of whom are members from Shanghai Panda Family Rare Blood Club, a local grassroots non-governmental organization of rare blood carriers. 

Zhao Qin, founder of the club, developed the organization into one with over 1,000 members since it was initiated in 2008. She learnt that she was an O-negative blood carrier during a routine pregnancy checkup in 2007. 

According to the director, surnamed Shi, from the blood center in Pudong New Area, when patients of rare blood types undergo scheduled surgeries, they can pre-store their own blood in advance. "But for patients in emergency situations, such as traumas and massive hemorrhages, stocks of rare blood may fail to meet the need and the hospital need to source from the public," Shi told the Global Times on Thursday. 

According to Shi, if the center collects Rh-negative blood from donors, they send the blood to the Shanghai Blood Center, which then allocates the rare blood type. 

For rare blood carriers in China, any kind of medical procedure can come with huge risk. Expectant mothers of rare blood are often required to store their own blood before giving birth, or donors are needed for emergency situations such as postpartum hemorrhages. 

The unusual experience drove Zhao to get connected with people like her in case they need help from each other. Zhao and other administrators send notices among the group members through social media whenever there is an urgent need of the rare blood. 

"Not all members joined the club because they received help from the club. Many recipients of the donation even did not know the existence of the club," said Zhao, who was unable to recall exactly how many people have received help from the club since it was founded.

Most of the members are based in Shanghai. If someone relocates to another place, Zhao would also recommend them to their local alliance. It is not easy to tell how many such organizations exist in China, as they are often spontaneously organized by ordinary rare blood carriers and many of them are not officially registered. 

Qi Junfeng registered his Shenzhen Panda Rare Blood Volunteer Service Association with the local civil affairs bureau in 2015. So far, the association has more than 500 members. 

Qi happened to learn he carries A-negative blood during a blood donation in 2004. Since then, he has donated his full blood or platelet nearly 80 times because he realized his rare blood is more precious than ordinary blood. 

The rarity of the blood has also lured blood peddlers looking to cash in on its urgent demand. Buying and selling blood is completely illegal in China according to China's Blood Donation Law enacted in 1998. 

According to Qi, in some cities, especially big cities where the demand is higher, 400 milliliters of "panda blood" can be worth over 10,000 yuan ($1,525) on the black market. 

Chen Yuanguo, founder of a rare blood organization in Changzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, told the Global Times that he usually receives demand notices from hospitals, blood centers and social media. 

If he gets a notice from the internet, he would confirm the patient's information with the hospital before sending the notice to the organization's members, making sure the blood is properly used. 

Although the rare blood is expensive on the black market, members of the grassroots organizations want nothing in return from the recipients. "Sometimes our volunteers even pay for the travel fees themselves if their blood is needed in another city," Chen said. 

"We don't want to place a burden on the recipients and don't expect to be heroes. We are just ordinary people," said volunteer Cai Jingli, from Shanghai Panda Family Rare Blood Club, whose motto is "love brings us together and saving others is the same as saving ourselves."