CHINA / SOCIETY
Two persons with rarest ‘Golden Blood’ found in East China, raising global number to nearly 50
Published: Aug 30, 2022 01:27 PM
Photo: Snapshot from Weibo

Photo: Snapshot from Weibo

A hospital in East China's Jiangsu Province has recently found two women with Rhnull blood, the rarest blood type on Earth so far in fewer than 50 people around the globe, since it was first found in 1961.

Jiangsu Taizhou People's Hospital found Rhnull blood in a female patient with severe anemia while testing her blood type and antibody. The patient's elder sister was then found to have the same blood type.

Since the first person with Rhnull blood was discornered in an Australian woman in 1961, there have been less than 50 people in the world and four people in China known to have the blood type. 

Even more precious than the Rh-negative blood type called "Panda Blood," Rhnull blood has been called "Golden Blood" as it is the "universal" life-saving blood. 

Racking up more than 620 million views and comments as of press time, the hashtag "Two persons found with the rarest blood type in E China's Jiangsu" has become the top trending topic on Sina Weibo, where netizens marveled at the scarcity of the blood type and expressed worries over the woman's severe anemia.

Since people with Rhnull blood have no Rh antigens on their red blood cells, they can give a blood transfusion to people with any other blood type without rejection reaction. But at the same time, having such an extremely rare blood type can make it difficult or even impossible to get a blood transfusion or organ transplant from others.