Rare Donors - Seltene Spender - Rare donneurs

Welcome to the homepage of the «Rare Donor File»

In addition to ABO and Rh, there are more than 40 other blood group systems with with more than 300 known antigens. These antigens and the resulting phenotypes are distributed in different ethnic groups at different frequencies. A rare phenotype (1/1000) is generally defined by the absence of a high-frequency antigen or by a rare antigen constellation in several blood group systems. Examples of high-frequency antigens are k, Kp(b), Lu(b), Co(a), Vel, YT(a), U and H. The supply of patients with antibodies against such high-frequency antigens often proves to be a major challenge.

The «Rare Donor File» is a national database based on the cooperation of all regional blood donation services in Switzerland and is regularly updated. It is designed to guarantee the supply of patients who have rare blood types. Since 2023, the regional BSD Zurich (blood donation service) has been responsible for the maintenance and management of this database.

Please contact one of the people on the adjacent list if you have any questions.