Zainab, 2-year-old child in Florida, needs blood donors

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A 2-year-old girl in Florida, Zainab, needs urgent blood donors as she battles cancer, says OneBlood. The donors must be of Indian, Pakistani or Iranian descent.

According to OneBlood’s website, the child’s blood type is extremely rare because she is missing the common antigen “Indian B” (Inb), that most people carry in their red blood cells.

For a person to even be a possible match for Zainab, they must also be missing the Indian B antigen, or else her body will reject the blood.

Therefore, the donors must be of Indian, Pakistani or Iranian descent as the antigen involves genetics and is in less than 4 percent of the entire Indian, Pakistani and Iranian population, according to the website.

OneBlood has stated on its website that they are working closely with other blood centers, including the American Rare Donor Program (ARDP), and so far, three donors have been located, but an additional seven to 10 donors are needed as Zainab will need blood transfusions in the foreseeable future.

In order to be a potential match for Zainab, one must meet the following criteria:

• Must be exclusivelyPakistani, Indian or Iranian descent – meaning the donor’s birth parents are both 100% Pakistani, Indian or Iranian
• Must be blood type “O” or “A”
• All donations for Zainab must be coordinated with OneBlood in advance to ensure the additional compatibility testing is performed.

For more information, go to: https://www.oneblood.org/zainab/