Gorakhpur (UP): Doctors at All India Institute of Medical Sciences Gorakhpur have identified an extremely rare subgroup of the ‘A’ blood group in a pregnant woman who was referred to the institute after discrepancies appeared in her blood tests, officials said on Saturday.

The discovery was made by the Department of Transfusion Medicine during a detailed evaluation of the woman, who is currently in her eighth month of pregnancy.

Saurabh Murti, faculty in charge of the department, explained that certain subgroups of blood type A can show weaker antigen expression, which may cause inconsistencies in routine tests.

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“Because of this, routine blood grouping tests may sometimes show discrepancies, making advanced serological testing necessary to determine the correct blood type,” he said.

Murti added that the identified A3 subgroup is extremely rare and occurs in only a small fraction of the population.

“The A3 subgroup is extremely rare, with studies suggesting a frequency of around one in 33,000 individuals in some regional Indian populations,” he said.

During the evaluation, doctors detected anti-A1 antibodies reacting at four degrees Celsius, a factor that can affect transfusion safety.

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Due to the presence of this antibody, transfusion using A-group packed red blood cells is not recommended for the patient, and doctors have advised the use of group O PRBCs instead.

Officials noted that the institute had recently detected another rare blood type, the Bombay Blood Group, in a separate patient.

Congratulating the medical team, Vibha Dutta, Executive Director and CEO of All India Institute of Medical Sciences Gorakhpur, said the institute remains committed to strengthening advanced diagnostic and transfusion services for patients across the Purvanchal region.