RI Blood Center helps in search for rare blood type for Miami toddler

January 7, 2019 12:19 pm

Twitter: @MRandallABC6

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE-TV)— Zainab is a 2 year old girl from Miami who needs blood transfusions for her cancer treatment. But her blood type is so rare that it’s harder than finding a needle in a haystack. In fact, only a handful of donors’ world wide have been matched to date.

Over the weekend the Rhode Island blood center held a blood drive trying to help find people who could donate. 33 people came out with 27 completed donations. They are now waiting for test results to see if anyone was a match.

Criteria for Donors:

– Donors must be EXCLUSIVELY Pakistani, Indian or Iranian descent, meaning the blood donor’s birth parents are BOTH 100% Pakistani, Indian or Iranian

– MUST be type “O” or “A”. If you do not know your blood type but meet the above criteria, please donate as all blood will be typed.

– Donor should not have traveled to Pakistan, India or Iran in the last 12 months.

Individuals who think they might be able to help should call Telerecruitment 401-453-8383 to book an appointment at our Providence Donor Center. By doing so, RI Blood can properly tag the donation for specific testing.

If people have more questions, they should contact Nauman Malik at nmalik@ribc.org.