The ISBT Working Party on Rare Donors is dedicated to advancing the identification, characterization, and international provision of rare blood. It promotes global collaboration between national programs, supports the development of emerging rare donor registries, and contributes to education, standardization, and research in Rare Blood needs and provision.
Chairperson and committee
Chair: Vered Yahalom (Israel)
Vice Chair: Thierry Peyrard (France)
Secretary: Inna Sareneva (Finland)
Treasurer: Tanya Powley (Australia)
IBGRL liaison: Nicole Thornton (UK)
Past Chair: Christine Lomas-Francis (USA)
Special Advisor: Sandra Nance (USA)
Membership
The Working Party has 42 members representing 30 countries.
The Working Party includes members from a wide range of countries across Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania. During the reporting period, three new members joined—representing France, The Netherlands, and New Zealand—replacing retiring members who were formally recognised for their contributions. In line with the Terms of Reference, members are expected to support rare blood donor search and transfusion care for patients with rare blood types, as well as actively contribute to the International Rare Donor Panel (IRDP) through ongoing registry updates and collaborative activities.
Meetings
The annual hybrid business meeting of the WPRD was held on May 31, 2025, in Milan, Italy, in conjunction with the ISBT Regional Congress. The hybrid format enabled both in-person and remote participation, ensuring broad engagement.
Key topics included updates to the rare donor reference list, reporting of antigen-positive transfusion outcomes, progress in case study submissions, mentoring activities, and development of new rare donor initiatives. Members reiterated the importance of systematic reporting of clinical cases, including those without adverse outcomes, to strengthen the evidence base of transfusion of high prevalence antigen positive blood units. The rare donor reference list is a valuable resource, and members should ensure it is updated as manuscripts are published including articles in different languages. An update on IRDP activities highlighted the continued need for regular donor list updates and improvements in reporting tools. Discussions also addressed logistical and regulatory challenges associated with international transport of rare blood and reagents. Regional initiatives were presented, particularly from Latin America, demonstrating significant progress in establishing national working groups and harmonized protocols for import and export of rare blood reagents and rare blood. These efforts led to extensive screening of donors, and the finding of numerous new blood donors whose details were shared with the IBGRL.
In addition to the WP business annual meeting, the executive committee met on May 30th before the ISBT Milan congress, held a virtual meeting on October 2025 and maintained regular communication through email, to ensure continuity of activities. Communications between working party members remained active during this period to exchange information and to provide support and guidance to members presenting challenging problems.
Activities during the period
Major Projects and Initiatives
The Working Party continued to progress its key initiatives across multiple areas, including resources development, scientific research, collaboration, education, and outreach.
Rare Donor Resources and Case Studies
The rare donor reference list was further developed as a shared digital resource, with ongoing updates planned. The “Establishing a Rare Donor Programme Guide” was drafted. Several case studies were developed and disseminated, including “A patient with anti-Yta: to match or not to match?” integrated into ISBT e-learning platforms, and a case of pregnancy with anti-U, highlighting challenges in countries with developing rare donor programmes, which was uploaded to the ISBT website in January 2026.
Scientific and Technical Progress
Work continued on antigen-positive transfusion outcomes data collection, although case numbers remain limited. Efforts are ongoing to generate sufficient data for publication and to inform clinical guidance. In parallel, the IgA deficiency project, an international multicenter study, aims to define standardized diagnostic criteria and validate screening methods. Findings were presented at the Barcelona meeting and submitted for publication in Vox. ISBT funding supported sample collection from four countries (2024–2025), with further testing planned for 2026 following additional funding (2025–2026). The expected outcomes include improved diagnostic harmonization and transfusion support for IgA-deficient patients.
Collaboration and Partnerships
The Working Party maintained strong collaborations with the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory (IBGRL), the European Blood Alliance (EBA) Rare Blood Provision Working Group, and the Iberoamerican Cooperative Group for Transfusion Medicine (GCIAMT). In Latin America, coordinated efforts have supported the development of national working parties and shared protocols for rare donor search, resulting in 266 newly identified rare blood donors, including 88 in the past year. Continued ISBT-funded support and use of the ISBT FedEx account enabled the shipment of rare antisera between countries, including distribution from Colombia across the region and to the newly established Rare Donor Programme in Bangalore, India.
Mentoring, Education, and Outreach
Mentorship activities in Ireland and India have supported the development of rare donor registries, awareness initiatives, and laboratory capacity building. The Working Party also contributed to ISBT educational activities, including sessions at the 2025 Regional Congress in Milan, addressing topics such as migration and rare blood availability, as well as clinical challenges in rare transfusion scenarios.
Training, Workshops, and Events
An ISBT Academy Day was held in Paraguay in April 2025 in collaboration with GCIAMT and the Paraguayan Transfusion Society. Additional activities included participation in an EBA–ISBT workshop on rare blood provision in Bilbao, Spain (September 2025), and an application for an ISBT Academy Day in India.
Other Activities and Future Directions
A survey on rare blood transfusion policies revealed considerable variability in clinical practice and a lack of standardized guidelines. The Working Party plans to address this gap through the development of a consensus framework. Communication efforts were also strengthened through updates to the WPRD webpage.
Working Party Publications
Challenges and Opportunities
Key challenges include knowledge and education dissemination on rare blood donors and transfusion support of patients with antibodies to high prevalence antigens. Logistical and regulatory barriers to international shipment of rare blood and reagents, limited resources and infrastructure to develop rare donor programs. Scarce reporting of clinical cases, and variability in rare blood transfusion support national policies. Data harmonization and digital infrastructure also remain areas requiring further development.
Opportunities include the need for an international exchange program for rare antisera, red blood cells, monoclonal antibodies and DNA which will enable additional Rare Donor Programs to enhance their testing and increase the number of available Rare Blood globally. The need for exchange programs to educate and enhance collaboration between newly established rare donor programs and expert centers. Funding for such an individual exchange program was approved by ISBT for 2026/2027.
Additional ventures include increased engagement through mentoring, educational initiatives, the development of standardized international guidelines and expansion of digital data-sharing tools. Increased participation of underrepresented regions is a major challenge which requires additional outreach which will lead to strengthening of rare blood availability globally.
Summary
The ISBT Working Party on Rare Donors continues to play a role in enhancing and strengthening international collaboration and improving access to rare blood globally.
Key outcomes during this period include increased sharing of rare anti sera which enabled increased testing of donors especially in the Ibero American countries, continued development of international partnerships and education, expansion of mentoring activities and advancement of research initiatives.
Future priorities will focus on efforts to increase Rare Donor programs globally, mainly through education, mentoring and reagents sharing, as well as standardization, data sharing, digital innovation and research to address the ongoing challenges of rare donor search and transfusion support.
