Photo: VCG

Even rarer than Rh-negative blood, a B subtype blood has been identified in a hospital in Handan, North China's Hebei Province for the first time worldwide, expanding to scientific understanding of blood types and enhancing the effectiveness of blood transfusions.

Cui Ningning, a technician from the Handan First Hospital’s blood transfusion department received a novel specimen from a patient who was recommended for blood transfusion in April, according to local media on Thursday.  

Despite several attempts, Cui failed to identify the donor’s blood type. 

Cui then reported the unusual situation to the head physician Dong Peiyun, who, relying on extensive expertise, acutely recognized that the sample was likely to be subtype B. 

Following a series of serologic identifications of the patient's specimens, the results confirmed Dong’s initial judgement, according to the media. 

As identified, the rare blood type belongs to a new subtype of type B.  

The genetic sequence of this blood type has been submitted to the US National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)  t, and it has been formally added to the human DNA sequence database within  the NCBI under the code PP928483, according to media reports. 

Dong explained that accurate blood group matching is essential for safe blood transfusion since the blood group system is characterized by a multitude of novel subtypes that arise due to genetic changes in humans.  

Finding this rare blood type will not only broaden scientific understanding of blood types, but also further guarantee the safety of clinical blood transfusions, Dong added.