Gwada Negative

Gwada Negative Latest News

Recently, France’s national blood agency, the French Blood Establishment (EFS) has identified a completely new blood group system dubbed as “Gwada negative” which is officially recognised by the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT).   

About Gwada Negative

• It is named EMM-negative and colloquially dubbed “Gwada negative” in reference to the Guadeloupean origin of the woman who carries it.
• It is the informal name given to the newly classified EMM-negative blood group system, officially registered by ISBT as ISBT042.
• It is defined by the absence of the EMM antigen, which is normally found on red blood cells and is considered a high-incidence antigen.
• High-incidence antigens are present in nearly all humans but lacking in this new system which is extremely rare and medically significant.
• Criteria to consider a new blood group a new system: It should be genetically determined, inherited, identifiable via serological or molecular techniques, and have an associated antibody — criteria that EMM-negative meets.
• The identification of the EMM-negative blood type adds to the previously known 47 blood group systems, making it the 48th globally recognised system in transfusion science.
• As of now, the woman from Guadeloupe is the only known person in the world to possess this blood type.
• Her case is especially unique because she inherited the mutated gene from both her mother and her father, each of whom likely carried a single copy of the rare gene variant. This dual inheritance led to a complete lack of the EMM antigen in her red blood cells.

Key Facts about International Society of Blood Transfusion

• It was founded in 1935 in Paris.
• Headquarter: Amsterdam
• Functions: It aids in the solution of scientific and practical problems in blood transfusion and also facilitates the development of closer ties among those concerned with such problems, and to promote standardization of methods, equipment, and norms for its field.

Source: TH