Bhabisara Gharti Magar, a young mother living in Banya, Queensland, discovered she had one of the world's rarest blood types — a subset of the Bombay blood group called Para-Bombay — while planning her pregnancy. Now, a new partnership between The University of Queensland and the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood aims to scale lab-grown blood production in a Brisbane laboratory, offering hope for people with rare blood types who face severe challenges finding suitable donors.
Bhabisara Gharti Magar has a blood type few people have ever heard of. She only learned she had Para-Bombay, an extremely rare subset of the Bombay blood group, when she started planning to have children. During her pregnancy, doctors warned her they would need to prepare her own blood in advance in case she needed it during childbirth.
"I was advised to collect at least three bags through autologous blood donation," Gharti Magar explained. "Thankfully, I did not end up haemorrhaging [during birth] and I didn't need any of my stored blood."
For people with extremely rare blood types, finding suitable donors and blood supply can be incredibly challenging. To address this, experts from The University of Queensland and the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood have formed a new partnership aimed at scaling lab-grown blood to support people with unique transfusion needs. The work will be conducted in a Brisbane laboratory, focusing on producing blood that matches rare types such as Gharti Magar's Para-Bombay group.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- For patients with rare blood types like Para-Bombay, finding compatible donors in emergencies is difficult and can be life-threatening; this research could provide a reliable alternative.
- Scaling lab-grown blood would reduce dependence on voluntary donations for rare types, potentially improving outcomes for patients needing regular transfusions, such as those with thalassemia or sickle cell disease.
- The partnership between a university and a national blood service signals a move from basic research toward clinical translation, with a specific focus on practical production scale.
Background
Blood types are determined by antigens on red blood cells. The Bombay blood group (hh) is already extremely rare, found primarily in parts of India. Para-Bombay is even rarer. People with these types can only receive blood from donors with the same rare group. Australian Red Cross Lifeblood maintains a rare donor registry, but supply remains limited. Lab-grown blood, produced from stem cells, has been a long-term goal in transfusion medicine. This University of Queensland partnership aims to move from small-scale laboratory production to a process that could supply material for real transfusions.
Key Perspectives
Patients with rare blood types: For individuals like Bhabisara Gharti Magar, lab-grown blood could mean having a secure supply ready for pregnancy, surgery, or trauma, eliminating the anxiety of last-minute donor searches.
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood: As the national blood service, their involvement suggests a focus on quality control, safety standards, and eventual integration into the blood supply chain for rare types.
Critics/Skeptics: Questions remain about cost—can lab-grown blood be produced affordably at scale? Some may worry about the long-term viability and safety of lab-grown cells compared to natural blood, though no direct criticism was reported in the sources.
What to Watch
- Whether the partnership announces a timeline for first human transfusions using lab-grown rare blood.
- Expansion of the lab's scope to cover other rare blood types beyond Para-Bombay.
- Regulatory engagement: will the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) be involved in early planning for clinical use?