Search underway for donors with a rare blood type to help an Adelaide mother waiting for life-saving surgery.
A nationwide search is underway for donors with a rare blood type to help an Adelaide mother waiting for life-saving surgery. Doctors say just one in every 10-thousand people might be a match and are pleading for more people to donate blood.
Transcript
00:00 Rolling up their sleeves to help a mother in need.
00:05 Hundreds are answering the call to find the same rare blood type as Amira El-Hayes,
00:10 who needs it before undergoing open heart surgery.
00:13 Without the blood, I don't think they will be able to do anything.
00:17 Just waiting and keeping her under monitoring close eye from medical team.
00:22 Doctors need at least 20 units of blood before they can operate, and they need it fast.
00:27 We're looking for a very rare antibody that Amira has in her blood,
00:31 and that makes her blood very unique.
00:33 Approximately one in every 10,000 people will be a match for Amira.
00:37 The nationwide call out for O and A blood types has donation centres run off their feet.
00:43 The Australian general public is so, so generous.
00:46 You just put a call out like this and everybody just comes running.
00:50 It's so heartwarming.
00:53 For many, it's the first time they've given blood.
00:56 I felt it was important if I could contribute to somebody else's wellbeing,
01:00 especially seeing as it was only a couple of blood types.
01:04 If I had the blood type she needs, I'd happily donate as much as I can to help for the cause for Amira.
01:12 And it's that generosity that's given Amira's loved ones hope.
01:16 I would like to thank everyone, and their contribution is highly appreciated from us as a family.
01:24 We're a family hoping even more people will come forward to help.
01:27 [BLANK_AUDIO]