French scientists discover new blood type in Guadeloupe woman - Health - Life & Style
French scientists have identified a new blood type, dubbed "Gwada negative", belonging to a French woman from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. The woman is the only known carrier of what is now the world's 48th identified blood group system.
A French woman from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe has been identified as the only known carrier of a new blood type, dubbed "Gwada negative," France's blood supply agency has announced.
The announcement was made 15 years after researchers received a blood sample from a patient who was undergoing routine tests ahead of surgery, the French Blood Establishment (EFS) said on Friday.
"The EFS has just discovered the 48th blood group system in the world!" the agency said in a statement on social network LinkedIn.
"This discovery was officially recognised in early June in Milan by the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT)."
The scientific association had until now recognised 47 blood group systems. Correctly identifying patients' blood types is a crucial step in allowing them to receive potentially life-saving transfusions from compatible blood groups
Thierry Peyrard, a medical biologist at the EFS involved in the discovery, told AFP that a "very unusual" antibody was first found in the patient in 2011.
However, resources at the time did not allow for further research, he added
Scientists were finally able to unravel the mystery in 2019 thanks to "high-throughput DNA sequencing", which highlighted a genetic mutation, Peyrard said.
The patient, who was 54 at the time and lived in Paris, was undergoing routine tests before surgery when the unknown antibody was detected, Peyrard said.
This woman "is undoubtedly the only known case in the world", said the expert.
"She is the only person in the world who is compatible with herself," he said.
Peyrard said the woman inherited the blood type from her father and mother, who each had the mutated gene.
The name "Gwada negative", which refers to the patient's origins and "sounds good in all languages", has been popular with the experts, said Peyrard.
The ABO blood group system was first discovered in the early 1900s, where blood type is identified by the presence or absence of specific antigens. Thanks to DNA sequencing, the discovery of new blood groups has accelerated in recent years.
Peyrard and colleagues are now hoping to find other people with the same blood group.
"Discovering new blood groups means offering patients with rare blood types a better level of care," the EFS said.
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Al-Ahram Weekly
16 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
French scientists discover new blood type in Guadeloupe woman - Health - Life & Style
French scientists have identified a new blood type, dubbed "Gwada negative", belonging to a French woman from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. The woman is the only known carrier of what is now the world's 48th identified blood group system. A French woman from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe has been identified as the only known carrier of a new blood type, dubbed "Gwada negative," France's blood supply agency has announced. The announcement was made 15 years after researchers received a blood sample from a patient who was undergoing routine tests ahead of surgery, the French Blood Establishment (EFS) said on Friday. "The EFS has just discovered the 48th blood group system in the world!" the agency said in a statement on social network LinkedIn. "This discovery was officially recognised in early June in Milan by the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT)." The scientific association had until now recognised 47 blood group systems. Correctly identifying patients' blood types is a crucial step in allowing them to receive potentially life-saving transfusions from compatible blood groups Thierry Peyrard, a medical biologist at the EFS involved in the discovery, told AFP that a "very unusual" antibody was first found in the patient in 2011. However, resources at the time did not allow for further research, he added Scientists were finally able to unravel the mystery in 2019 thanks to "high-throughput DNA sequencing", which highlighted a genetic mutation, Peyrard said. The patient, who was 54 at the time and lived in Paris, was undergoing routine tests before surgery when the unknown antibody was detected, Peyrard said. This woman "is undoubtedly the only known case in the world", said the expert. "She is the only person in the world who is compatible with herself," he said. Peyrard said the woman inherited the blood type from her father and mother, who each had the mutated gene. The name "Gwada negative", which refers to the patient's origins and "sounds good in all languages", has been popular with the experts, said Peyrard. The ABO blood group system was first discovered in the early 1900s, where blood type is identified by the presence or absence of specific antigens. Thanks to DNA sequencing, the discovery of new blood groups has accelerated in recent years. Peyrard and colleagues are now hoping to find other people with the same blood group. "Discovering new blood groups means offering patients with rare blood types a better level of care," the EFS said. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
2 days ago
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United action for blue sustainability - Features - Al-Ahram Weekly
The Third United Nations Ocean Conference held in the French coastal city of Nice last week highlighted the environmental and other threats facing the world's seas and oceans. The azure waters of the Mediterranean like other seas and oceans worldwide have become a battleground for one of the 21st century's most pressing environmental fights. At the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), held from 9 to 13 June in Nice in France, over 190 nations came together to safeguard the world's seas and oceans, including the Mediterranean, in the face of threats from climate change, pollution, and overexploitation. Events in Alexandria last month served as a living example of how warming seas and weather volatility are converging to cause damage to vulnerable Mediterranean coastlines. On the night of 31 May, the city experienced an unseasonally severe spring storm marked by heavy hail, strong winds, and widespread flooding, all of which led to the declaration of a state of emergency. The Egyptian coastal city is one of the most exposed in the world to the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels and more frequent storms and extreme weather events. Studies indicate that rising sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean fuel more intense storms. Warmer waters also give off more energy and moisture, intensifying storm formation. As the Alexandria storm shows, along with many other similar events across the world, extreme weather events can overwhelm urban drainage and infrastructure leading to potentially catastrophic consequences. The world's seas are facing threats on multiple fronts from plastic pollution to climate change, and according to the Union for the Mediterranean (UFM), the Mediterranean faces unprecedented challenges that threaten its ecosystems, economies, and communities. The Mediterranean generates more than $450 billion annually and is a vital resource for 510 million people in 22 countries. It is also warming at a rate 20 per cent faster than the global average and is threatened by pollution and overexploitation of resources. Experts predict that areas around the Mediterranean are expected to be uninhabitable in the next 25 years. Protecting and restoring marine ecosystems in the Mediterranean and other regions is not optional. It has become essential in the fight to reduce risk, safeguard communities, and build climate-resilient coastal zones, especially for a vulnerable Mediterranean region which hosts about 30 per cent of the world's economic activities. The high-level international gathering at this year's UNOC3 brought together government delegations, global financial institutions, NGOs, academic researchers, civil society, and private sector representatives to address the escalating challenges facing the world's oceans. 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IMPORTANCE: The world's oceans cover 70 per cent of the planet's surface and regulate weather patterns, harbour rich biodiversity, and enable global trade. The Mediterranean, home to over 510 million people, is now warming faster than the global average, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This 'climate hotspot' faces worsening floods, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss. 'The Mediterranean is impacted directly by the effects of climate change, as it is heating up by over 20 per cent more than the rest of the world. Natural disasters are becoming more frequent,' said France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot. Egypt, which borders the Eastern Mediterranean, is already feeling the effects of this, and from rising sea levels in Alexandria to saltwater intrusion in the Nile Delta, coastal communities are under siege. The devastation caused by the recent storms in Alexandria served as a sombre example of what could take place elsewhere in the Mediterranean region throughout the conference. Warming sea temperatures in the Mediterranean are fuelling more powerful storms, and what was once deemed a 'natural disaster' is increasingly being understood as the consequence of weakened natural buffers and degraded marine ecosystems. 'As the Alexandria incident shows, extreme weather overwhelms urban drainage and hard infrastructure. Healthy marine habitats like seagrass meadows offer a lost line of defence,' noted a UNOC3 report. Without intervention, such vulnerabilities could spiral into a dangerous feedback loop, with ecosystem degradation releasing carbon, weakening coastal resilience, and inviting further destruction. 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Nasser Kamel, secretary-general of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), emphasised that 'sustainable development is key to unlocking economic growth potential' and praised Egypt's initiative to explore artificial coral nurseries as part of marine ecosystem restoration. Marine ecosystems are frontline allies in climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, he said. Kamel praised the region's sustainable blue economy community as a global inspiration and the UfM's pioneering role in fostering political and technical dialogue. 'In the face of geopolitical unrest, the sustainable blue economy unites us despite differences,' Kamel said. 'We remain committed to leveraging our platform for 43 UfM member states and stakeholders to mobilise investment and promote sustainable, equitable development.' THE MEDITERRANEAN: Covering one per cent of the world's ocean area but hosting over 18 per cent of its marine biodiversity, the Mediterranean Sea is vital to the region. 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'The UFM helps fundraise and attract investment from different donors to help implement the priorities which are chosen together by the members of the UFM,' she said, adding that the organisation is working to make sure that the Southern Mediterranean countries have access to more funding and opportunities for investment through an integrated approach, along with projects related to preserving ecosystems and developing a sustainable blue economy including marine litter, marine protected areas, and other initiatives such as the Blue Mediterranean Partnership (BMP), a funding mechanism born at the UN COP27 Climate Change Conference held in Egypt in 2022. 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'The BMP connects all stakeholders to realise a sustainable blue economy,' said Ewa Manik, associate director at the EBRD. 'It reduces risk and cost through technical assistance and capacity building.' Delilah Al Khudhairy, director of Maritime Policy and Blue Economy at the European Commission, said that 'the Mediterranean Sea is setting the path for the sustainable blue economy, and we need to unlock the financial support needed,' adding that the BMP strengthened ties with the EU's Southern Neighbourhood Countries. With the Mediterranean's blue economy projected to double its €1.5 trillion value by 2030, balancing development and conservation is a central challenge. But tourism, maritime transport, and fisheries, all pillars of this economy, face immense pressure. CLIMATE POLICY: Two key scientific reports from the Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC) pointed to this urgency. 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Among the most significant developments at the UNOC3 was the near ratification of the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ) that would establish legal authority to create marine protected areas in international waters. With over 55 countries already on board and just five short of the 60 needed, the treaty is expected to enter into force by early 2026. Other major outcomes included a political declaration, the 'Nice Ocean Action Plan,' outlining commitments on fisheries, pollution, and sustainable finance. As Egypt positions itself at the nexus of regional marine action, the message from the Nice Conference was clear: the cost of inaction would be far too high for the future of the world's seas and oceans. 'The sustainable blue economy unites us despite our differences,' said UfM Secretary-General Nasser Kamel. 'Now is the time to act, not only for the sea, but also for the people who depend on it.' Fouad closed her speech to the conference with a clarion call. 'The Mediterranean Sea unites us. It is our shared responsibility to pursue ambitious and practical actions to safeguard our water resources and marine ecosystems,' she said. * A version of this article appears in print in the 19 June, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
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