A Filipina mum from Abu Dhabi underwent a life-saving surgery that required a global search for a rare blood type.
In 2018, Daina Bautista, an expat in Abu Dhabi for more than 15 years, found out that she had three damaged heart valves which she initially thought as asthma.
Her condition worsened last year and she was admitted to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.
Dr Manuel Algora, a clinical pathologist and director of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s blood bank, said her heart surgery is difficult to perform since she has a rare blood type B+, found in only about 9 per cent of people. On top of that, she also lacks the JK3 protein, an extremely rare phenotype.
This meant she could only receive blood from donors who both matched her blood type and also lacked that specific protein.
“As soon as we discovered that Daina’s blood lacked the JK3 protein, something that is exceptionally rare worldwide, we began our search for donors within the UAE and abroad,” Dr Algora said.
The team started their hunt with the Abu Dhabi Blood Bank to look for suitable donors. The search was eventually broadened contacting blood banks across the UAE, and the Gulf region and as far as Malaysia and Spain. They eventually found two matching blood in Kuwait.
Bautista’s surgery took place on December 15, three months after it was initially scheduled.
Dr. Algora said: “This was a very difficult case and I’m very proud that we were able to come together as one team across all areas of the hospital to arrange for the import of the blood Daina so desperately needed.”
