About 12 People with 'P Type' Blood Group in China
A new gene sequence of the rare blood type p has been discovered at a hospital in China.
On the 7th (local time), the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP), citing the Chinese media Xiandai Kuaibao (現代快報), reported that on the 6th, during a routine blood test last year at Taixing People's Hospital in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, eastern China, a previously unknown nucleotide (a component of nucleic acid) sequence was found in a person with blood type p.
Taixing People's Hospital submitted the gene sequence to GenBank, the biological genetic information database of the U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). The hospital later received a response from NCBI last month stating that the nucleotide sequence had never been found anywhere else in the world. The nucleotide sequence was assigned the serial number OR900206 in the human gene database.
Type p is an extremely rare blood type within the rare P blood group. The P blood group was discovered in 1927 and is divided into five types based on antigens on the surface of red blood cells: P1, P2, P1k, P2k, and p. Xiandai Kuaibao reported that the p blood type occurs in less than one in a million people. Approximately 12 people in China have the p blood type.
The P blood group cannot be distinguished by the conventional ABO and Rh blood typing reagents, making it easy to miss. Blood transfusion expert Chao Guoping, who discovered the new gene sequence, said that early detection for those with rare blood types allows better preparation for potential risks related to transfusions. He further explained that type p can only receive transfusions from the same blood type, and especially during pregnancy, incorrect transfusions can lead to miscarriage and other complications.
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