Mumbai – A flower vendor travelled 400 km from Shirdi in Maharashtra to Madhya Pradesh to save the life of a 30-year-old critically ill woman. This donor has the rare 'Bombay' blood group. If this blood was not found on time, the woman's life could have been in danger.
Ravindra Ashtekar (36), who runs a wholesale flower business in Shirdi, reached Indore in Madhya Pradesh on May 25 and donated blood to the woman. It is known that the woman's health has improved after being admitted there.
In this regard, Ashtekar said that when I got information about the critical condition of this woman through a blood donor group on WhatsApp, I decided to take a friend's car and travel about 440 km to Indore. I am satisfied that I could contribute something from my side to save that woman's life. In the last decade, I have donated blood eight times to the needy in various cities of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The head of the transfusion medicine department of the Government Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital here said that the woman was mistakenly given 'O' positive blood during delivery in another hospital. This deteriorated her health and also affected her kidneys. When the woman's condition worsened and she was sent to a nursing home in Indore, her hemoglobin level had dropped to about 4 grams per deciliter. Whereas in a healthy woman this level should be 12 to 15 grams per deciliter.
Therefore, after giving four units of Bombay blood, the woman's health started becoming stable. The doctor also said that if this rare blood group blood was not given to the woman, her life could have been in danger. Two units of blood were sent from Nagpur to Indore for this woman.