In 2011, a woman from Guadeloupe visited a Paris clinic for examination. However, the doctors were unable to match her blood to any of the known blood groups. Only years later, with the development of technologies, and after genome sequencing, it became clear that she had a unique mutation in the PIGZ gene, and her red blood cells had received their own “design” of proteins.
That is how the new blood type was discovered—“Guadeloupe-negative,” officially recognized and taking 48th place in the international classification. So far, this blood type is the only one in the world—belonging to that same woman. As a precaution, scientists are now studying people in Guadeloupe in search of “relatives” of this rare condition.
From a medical standpoint, the news is serious: each such discovery is a plus for safety and accuracy in medicine. But it’s better, of course, to be unique in character and talent rather than in red blood cells.
