A man possessing an extremely rare blood phenotype called the Bombay blood group flew down to the city to donate his blood to a woman with the same phenotype.
Ganesh Lokhande (33) paid for his trip to the city out of his own pocket. His selfless act won the hearts of the hospital staff, not to mention the family of M. Sangeeta (38), the patient.
Mr. Lokhande is one of around 200 people in India to possess the Bombay blood group. The young businessman from Pune feels it is his responsibility to donate blood whenever someone with the same phenotype is in need.
He has donated blood 30 times so far, as those with the rare phenotype would otherwise be unable to get blood due to a shortage of donors.
Ms. Sangeeta’s relatives contacted various blood banks in Visakhapatnam, but they had expressed helplessness as they had no supply of the Bombay blood group. They then went to Life Share Blood Bank on Sampath Vinayak Temple Road. “Sangeeta’s relatives were dejected to know that we too were not in a position to help them though they were ready to give their own blood in exchange. I was touched by their plight and made attempts to contact different donors and volunteer groups and finally zeroed in on Mr. Lokhande and he readily agreed,” said Dr. D. Sumana, director of Life Share Blood Bank.
Mr. Lokhande, who has studied up to Intermediate, runs a small business, supplying products required by various industries in Pune. His father, who also has the same blood group, owns a welding shop. “I learnt about my rare blood group when I went to donate blood in 2000. I learnt that there were only around 200 persons with this blood group in India. I made it a habit to donate blood regularly,” Mr. Lokhande said.
“I underwent bariatric surgery and could not donate blood for some time. This is my first blood donation after the surgery. I had gone to Jharkhand, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and other places on my own expense in the past to donate blood,” Mr. Lokhande said.
