A case of rare anti-Hro alloantibody in a tertiary care center in India

Anti-Hro is an alloantibody produced in individuals with -D- phenotype after a sensitizing event. Owing to the rarity of this antigen negative unit, registration in rare donor registries helps in procuring blood components at the earliest. We had a patient of -D- with anti-Hro antibody who required 7 units of red cells which was unavailable at our center. The patients near relatives were typed in search of a similar phenotype blood. Search was made for the rare units and Japanese Red Cross Society, American Red Cross Society, and International Blood Group Reference Laboratory, United Kingdom was contacted. Patient's brother and mother were typed as -D- and one unit from each of them was collected, irradiated, and transfused to the patient. Five units were imported from the Japanese Red Cross Society, Japan. Accessibility for identification and confirmation of rare blood groups and provision of the same can be centralized and liaison with the international registries can go a long way in the provision of blood components at the earliest.