Commercial flight carries rare blood for a Brazilian transplant patient

A rare blood donation reached Juiz de Fora, Brazil, on 9 October for a kidney transplant patient after a national registry located a compatible donor in another state. The blood travelled from Ceará in the cabin of a commercial aircraft, using a new transport arrangement designed to reduce delays.

Only six people in Brazil’s National Rare Blood Registry were listed as potentially compatible donors for this patient. Tests had found an antibody that reacts to Jsb, a marker on most people’s red blood cells. He needed blood without that marker, a requirement that goes beyond the familiar A, B, AB and O groups.

Ceará’s Hemoce blood centre confirmed compatibility, collected the donation and released it the same day. The blood travelled free of charge in packaging with strict temperature control. Other donors were also being contacted to meet any further transfusion needs.

The delivery was among Brazil’s first uses of commercial aircraft cabins for rare blood, through cooperation between health authorities, the aviation regulator and airlines. Previously transported as cargo, these donations can now travel more quickly, including at night, on weekends and during holidays. The approach builds on arrangements already used to transport organs for transplantation.

Created in 2013, the national rare blood registry now lists 2,032 donors and has helped more than 300 patients, according to Brazil’s health ministry.