Volunteering as a “Living Blood Bank”
In late 2009, during a severe dengue fever outbreak, Nguyen Thi Ha Mi had to be transferred to three hospitals for treatment, finally ending up at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases. At that time, her platelet count dropped to 8, a dangerously low level.
“The doctor told me I have A Rh(D) negative blood type, which is very rare. No one in my family shared the same type. It took a long time to find a suitable donor back then. Fortunately, someone volunteered to donate compatible blood, and I was able to overcome that difficult period,” Mi recalled.
That was the first time Captain Nguyen Thi Ha Mi, from the Personnel Department of the Hanoi Public Security, learned that she was among the very few Vietnamese people with a rare blood type.
Captain Nguyen Thi Ha Mi – Personnel Department, Hanoi Public Security (Photo: Minh Nhat).
And from the moment she “was saved,” she vowed to herself: “Later, if I’m healthy enough, I will be the one to save others.”
Ha Mi’s blood donation journey began in 2019.
“People who donate rare blood, like us, are jokingly called ‘living blood banks,’ serving as direct blood reserves for others with rare blood types. We don’t donate on a regular schedule but rather when a patient needs it or when the blood reserves at the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion run low,” Ha Mi shared.
To date, the female captain has donated blood 14 times, including 4 direct donations at hospitals for urgent cases.
On one occasion, she was working at her unit when she received a notification that a patient at Military Central Hospital 108 urgently needed blood for surgery, matching her own blood type.
Captain Ha Mi recalled: “As soon as I heard the news, I asked for permission from my commander and rushed straight to the hospital. Upon arrival, the doctor took me to the Hematology department to donate blood. When I learned the recipient was a patient with stage 4 stomach cancer, I was truly choked up.”
A day later, she received news that the surgery was successful: “The emotion at that time was indescribable. I was overwhelmed with joy when the family informed me. I just wish to always be healthy so I can donate to more people.”
Delegates attending the “Meeting of Outstanding Rare Blood Donors 2025” program (Photo: Minh Nhat).
At her agency, whenever there is a training course for conscripts, Mi and her unit organize voluntary blood donation programs, in coordination with the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion. Each drive mobilizes 400 to 500 units of blood.
She is also a member of the Rapid Response Voluntary Blood Donation Club of the Hanoi Youth Police Club.
“Whenever I receive information that a patient needs blood, I call out within the unit to see who meets the criteria. Our club always tries to be there as quickly as possible to save lives,” Ha Mi said.
Ha Mi was a delegate at the “Meeting of Outstanding Rare Blood Donors 2025” program. The program was organized by the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion on November 15.
Like Ha Mi, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Nam, 42 years old, with AB Rh(D) negative blood type, is always aware of the importance of every drop of rare blood donated.
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Nam (Photo: Minh Nhat).
Nam has donated blood 9 times, mostly at the beginning of the year or during Tet holidays, times when donors are scarce.
“Once, on the 3rd day of Tet, the team leader reported that the hospital was critically short of blood, so I proactively abstained from alcohol completely to prepare for donation. During Tet, students all go home, so we set out,” Nam said.
“I find rare blood donation very meaningful. You give a little and save a life right before your eyes,” the man chuckled.
The members of the “living blood bank” have no special titles. They are simply soldiers, office workers, ordinary citizens… with blood types few possess, always in a “ready” state.
Many Challenges in Securing Rare Blood Sources
Associate Professor Dr. Tran Ngoc Que, Director of the National Blood Center, National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, stated: “Ensuring blood donor sources in general, and especially rare Rh(D) negative blood donor sources in particular, faces many difficulties and challenges.”
Associate Professor Dr. Tran Ngoc Que, Director of the National Blood Center, National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (Photo: Minh Nhat).
In Vietnam, the proportion of people with Rh(D) negative blood type accounts for only about 0.07% – 0.1% of the population. When a patient with a rare blood type needs a transfusion, every passing second is precious because rare blood sources are not always readily available at blood centers.
As of November, the International Society of Blood Transfusion recognizes up to 48 red blood cell blood group systems with 398 different blood group antigens. Each blood group system has different blood types due to the presence or absence of genetically determined antigens on the surface of red blood cells and antibodies in that person’s serum.
The International Society of Blood Transfusion stipulates that blood types with a frequency of less than 0.1% are called rare blood types, and those below 0.01% are called very rare blood types.
In Vietnam, one of the commonly mentioned rare blood types is Rh(D) negative, accounting for less than 0.1% of the population. In contrast, the prevalence of Rh(D) negative blood type in communities in Europe or many other countries is not rare, potentially accounting for 15-40% of the population.
