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Two small traders donate rare blood to save people with dengue fever

Posted on 19 Month 05 2023

QUANG NGOI - Two women crossed 35 km to the hospital to donate platelets to save a man suffering from dengue who needed an O(Rh-) blood transfusion, a very rare blood type.

The man, 46 years old, working in Ly Son island district, suffered from dengue fever and was admitted to Quang Ngai Provincial General Hospital on May 17. The next day, the patient's platelet count dropped sharply, bleeding gums and stomach, bad digestion, needed urgent platelet transfusion. Unfortunately, the hospital does not have O(Rh-) blood available for transfusion. This is a very rare blood group, the rate is about 0.04-0.07% of the population.

Doctors contacted groups of voluntary blood donors but there were no people with the same blood type. At this time, based on the database stored at the hospital, medical staff found two small traders Nguyen Thi Truc (35 years old) and Nguyen Thi Bay (38 years old), from Binh Hai commune, Binh Son district, who are O(Rh-) blood carrier, used to donate blood to save family members.

*Ms. Truc and Ms. Bay donated blood O(Rh-). Photo: Thanh Ly*

Ms. Truc said that after the fish market, she received a phone call from the hospital, so she left immediately. "I asked Bay to come with me because I was afraid that I wouldn't have enough platelets to donate," the woman said. The house is 35 km from the hospital, the two sisters quickly came by motorbike.

The leader of the Department of Hematology, Quang Ngai Provincial General Hospital, said that the patient had a large decrease in platelet count. Thanks to two small traders who donated blood in time, the patient was stable again and could eat porridge by himself.

The patient's wife thanked two women who donated blood to save her husband. In response, Ms. Truc and Ms. Bay said "whenever someone needs blood, just call".