We all have blood of a certain type. Some are very common whilst others are less common. The first time blood was grouped was in 1901 when the Austrian-American biologist, Dr Karl Landsteiner identified the most common group, the ABO group. Different groups come about because there a different proteins and sugars on the surface of red blood cells. These are referred to as antigens and they are recognisable by our immune system. There is also a rhesus classification of blood.
It is important to know which blood type you have as some groups do not match. Decades ago, parents who had specific different blood groups could have a first child successfully, but future births meant the babies died at birth or soon after. This is no longer a problem for medical science. On a personal note, I was one of those first born and four years later, my twin brothers were still born.
There are more blood groups than people think. To date, 2024 figures, there were 45 recognised by the International Society of Blood Transfusion. But this article is about a particular blood group, one that has only been identified in one person in the entire world. In 2011, a woman in Paris was having preliminary tests before undergoing surgery, when it was noticed her blood type could not be recognised.
At the time, there was no way of making a positive identification. It was only in 2019, with advances in gene sequencing, that scientists were able to classify this unique group. By this time, the woman in question had moved to the French Island of Guadalope. She was then 68 years old. The blood group was named “Gwada Negative” which relates to an old local name for the island. She is still the only person in the world that we know of who has this blood type. Her group is now number 48 in the blood group table.
The reason for this unique group is that she has a mutation in the gene PIGZ. It affects how proteins can attach themselves to the surface of blood cells. A unique gift or a curse. As long as she does not need a blood transfusion, there will be no problem as she is only compatible with herself.
John Pullen 