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MUMBAI: A Pune executive and two Mumbaikars came together to give a new lease of life to the 15-month-old son of a UP farmer, born with the lethal combination of a rare blood group and heart disease.

The child with Bombay Blood Group will undergo a life-saving surgery at New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) on Friday, with three units of blood collected from these donors in Mumbai.

The blood trail began with Gorakhpur resident Sandesh Kumar's frantic search for this group that less than 190 Indians are known to be living with. His son Arun was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition that had to be urgently corrected given his deteriorating condition.

"Not a single bank in Delhi has even one unit of this blood. Some have not even heard of it," Kumar told TOI over phone. Fortunately for Kumar one of his acquaintances shifted the search online and came across a robust group of 10 donors in Maharashtra. They contacted NGO Think Foundation, who in turn sent out a distress message across the state asking for donors to come and donate in Mumbai.

When Pune resident Prabodh Yatnalkar's read this message on his instant messenger, he had no second thoughts. He made the 304km round trip to Mumbai and donated a unit of blood for Kumar's child on Wednesday. "I spoke to my company manager and hopped on to the first bus. I am born with one of the rarest blood groups and understand its value," said the 35-year-old executive who works with Accenture. While this was Yatnalkar's first donation, he said he has been lucky not to require a blood transfusion so far.

Chembur resident Alex Fernandes (48) and Mehul Bhelekar (29) from Borivli also stole time from their respective workplaces to make the precious donation. Fernandes has been a regular donor and has often come to the rescue of several others with this blood group. Fernandes works in the stores department of a paint manufacturing company while Bhelekar is a senior draughtsman in an architectural firm.

Vinay Shetty from Think Foundation who facilitated the entire chain said that while nearly 190 people are known to have this blood group, less than 50% are active donors. "We still managed to collect and send around three units for the child. "The blood has already reached Delhi by air. We pack it neatly in an ice box," he said. He added that cases such as Kumar's highlight the importance to have a national registry for Bombay Blood Group members. "Statistics suggest that one in every 17,600 people in India or one in every 25,000 people in the world has this group. The scary part is they cannot be transfused with any other blood group. So in an emergency they can also die for want of blood," he said.

The ice-box with blood units reached Delhi around 1.30pm on Thursday, confirmed Kumar. He however said there was a cumbersome process involved, and it took around two hours to just complete the formalities to take the box out of Delhi airport. He reached AIIMS around 4pm to deposit the blood in their bank.



The family has been camping in a lodge near the AIIMS. "We will admit him for the surgery on Friday. After the surgery, I will convey my gratitude to donors from Mumbai and Pune. No parent can see their child going through such pain. He often turns bluish and becomes unconscious," the father said.

Shetty suggested that members of Bombay Blood should always register with a larger group as an emergency back-up.

Think Foundation is an NGO that works towards raising awareness about voluntary blood donations. Bombay Blood Group individuals can call on 022-65181341/1343 to register.