Rare blood transfusion from Spain saves mother, baby in Türkiye
GAZİANTEP
In a remarkable feat, the Turkish Red Crescent orchestrated a life-saving transfusion of Rh null blood — known as "golden blood" due to its extreme rarity, found in just one in 6 million people — enabling a 30-year-old mother to safely deliver her baby.
Naide Soylu from the southern city of Gaziantep, pregnant with her third child, required a transfusion during her seventh month due to her condition and underlying thalassemia.
Standard blood donations, including those from family members, were incompatible.
Advanced testing confirmed she had the Rh null blood type, one of the rarest in the world.
Coordinating the efforts, the Turkish Red Crescent arranged for three units of Rh null blood from Spain — two frozen units from a blood bank and one fresh unit from a volunteer donor.
The blood was transported under strict cold-chain conditions first to Istanbul and then to Gaziantep. Once thawed, the frozen units had only 72 hours of usability, making the operation extremely time-sensitive.
Thanks to the transfusion, Soylu underwent a safe delivery and was able to hold her newborn.
“This was my first time hearing about golden blood. I was scared I might not get to hold my baby,” Soylu said. “When the blood arrived from Spain, I felt hope again. I realized how precious each drop of blood is.”
