A team of French scientists discovered a new blood group, called “negative Gwada,” in a woman who was conducting routine analyzes before an operation – and who is “the only person in the world that is compatible with themselves.”
A French woman from Guadalupe Island of Caribbean was identified as the only known bearer of a new blood group, called “Negative“The French Blood Supply Agency Établissement Français du Sang (EFS).
“EFS has just discovered the 48th System From blood groups in the world! ”The agency said in a statement cited by the French newspaper.
“The discovery was officially recognized in early June in Milan by the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT),” says the EFS note.
ISBT had so far recognized 47 blood group systems. Blood classification helps health professionals determine compatibility – or lack of it – between donors and recipients
The new blood type was identified in a blood sample of a patient who was performing routine analyzes before an operation15 years ago.
Speaking to the French agency AFP, Thierry Peyrard, EFS medical biologist involved in the discovery, initially announced by, explains that a “very unusual” antibody It had been found at the patient in 2011. However, the resources of the time did not allow additional investigation, he added.
Scientists finally managed to unravel the mystery in 2019, thanks to a technique of “High Debit DNA sequencing“That evidenced a genetic mutation, said Peyrard.
“The patient, who was 54 at the time and lived in Paris, was conducting routine analyzes before an operation when the unknown antibody was detected,” Peyrard said.
This woman “It is undoubtedly the only known case in the world“Said the expert.“ It’s The only person in the world that is compatible with yourself“Said. Peyrard said the woman inherited the blood and mother’s blood group that each had the mutated gene.
The name “Gwada Negative”, which refers to the sick’s origins and “sounds good in all languages”, became popular with experts, said Peyrard.
The researcher and his colleagues are now waiting find other people with the same blood group. “Discovering new blood groups means offering patients with rare blood groups a better level of care“Says EFS.
O ABO Blood Group System was discovered in the early twentieth century. Thanks to the sequencing of DNA, the discovery of new blood groups accelerated in recent years.
