BANGALORE: A 70-year-old from Istanbul in Turkey needed blood and help came from Bangalore. Ahmed, while undergoing medical tests, was found to have Bombay O+ blood group. Seven days later, he was diagnosed with lung cancer.
The hospital in Turkey required three units of blood to conduct his surgery. And that's when it became clear how rare the Bombay blood group was.
But luck prevailed. On February 20, Sankalp India Foundation in Bangalore received a blood request from the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Istanbul University, Turkey. They had come across an initiative of the Foundation, which networks Bombay Blood Group donors, needy and associated blood banks in India.
Ten days ago, Ahmed's 21-year-old son Zirak Ahmed flew back to Istanbul from Bangalore, after collecting blood units from the Sankalp blood bank. Such happy endings have been facilitated many times by the Foundation.
Istanbul man finds blood donor in Bangalore
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Sankalp Unit