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The demand for blood donors from migrant communities is growing in Australia.
Certain blood types are unique to specific racial and ethnic groups, requiring that donor diversity match patient diversity.
Jemma Falkenmire is a spokesperson for Australian Red Cross Lifeblood.
She says the low supply of certain blood types means there will be Australians who receive delayed treatment.
"The challenge for Lifeblood is that there are some ethnic groups that we don't have enough donors from those backgrounds to find enough rare blood groups. I think Polynesian background blood donors is an example. There's a rare blood group that's found in that population. And we don't have many donors nationally. Right now, there's not a crisis situation nationally, but if we have a cancer patient or a mum with one of those rare blood groups come into a hospital tomorrow, it's likely we won't have enough donors of that blood type, and it means we have to put out national calls for donors. We need to start working with the community to find the donors, and what it can mean is that their treatment might be delayed."
Medical researchers say the growing size of Australia's multicultural communities also creates the need for different blood types.
The most commonly recognisable groups are A, B, and O and their variations.
But population growth and geography can impact which blood types are the most in demand at any one time.
Dr Rena Hirani is a senior research fellow at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood.
She says the prevalence of the different blood types in Australia has recently changed.
"Until a little while ago, we didn't actually know what the prevalence of these blood groups were in the Australian community. And I did a study to characterise that. And what we found was that, compared to previous estimates, we are seeing an increase to B-positive and AB-positive individuals in the community. And these blood types are actually linked with certain ancestries. So India, Middle East, South East Asia, tend to have these blood groups. So as we're seeing more of the population changing with the multiculturalism in Australia, we're also seeing this in the shift in the blood types that we're seeing as well."
Blood type variations, like other characteristics, are passed down from people's immediate ancestors, most notably their parents.
But they can also change based on environmental factors.
For example, if a disease is spread around the community, then the blood types can change in time to make people more resistant to that disease.
As Dr Hirani explains, that can lead to further variations in blood types.
"As well as the A-B-O groups, there are 45 different blood types that can occur, with over 360 different variations. And some of these variations are only common in certain people with certain ancestries. So we need to make sure that people understand that blood groups are not just A-B-O, but there's more to it than that; and we need to have a diverse donor panel to be able to match our donors more closely to patients when they need them."
Dr Hirani provides examples of lesser known blood type variations - and she has urged people from those communities to step forward and make donations.
"There are certain blood types that we can only get from certain communities. So, the Duffy A neg(ative), B neg(ative), that can only come from people who are usually from African backgrounds or Middle-Eastern backgrounds. With Kidd Null backgrounds, we can only get those from people who are Filipino and Polynesian. So we really encourage people to come (forward) with that background. And also with B and AB, we can see that more commonly being required in the population. So people who are of South-East Asian background, India, Middle East - you never who your type is going to help."
Organisations, such as Lifeblood, say they are making a more proactive push to find rare blood type donors.
Lifeblood's Jemma Falkenmire says they have now launched a new program that tracks the ethnicity of each donor in order to keep up with which blood type variations are more prevalent in each community.
She says a key focus is overcoming barriers preventing those from diverse cultural backgrounds from donating blood.
"It is difficult because we know that there's a lot of fears around blood donation. And particularly different fears within different communities. For some people, they're really worried about the impact on their health, for some they're really worried about the experience of being in (the) centre. And so, we do have a research project going which is looking at different communities and some of those barriers to blood donation. And particularly looking at how we can get our existing donors from these communities to encourage their friends and families to donate."
Ms Falkenmire says mass blood drives that encourage people to donate blood as a group has proven successful - and she would like to see more people donate on a regular basis.
"We also have our wonderful groups blood donation program, including with organisations such as the Islamic Medical Council, but also the Polynesian Community. And that really is working with community leaders to organise groups of people to donate. We do find that people from these backgrounds are more likely to donate, if they've got friends and family to donate with. And so, that's really a big drive for Lifeblood."
At all times, Lifeblood needs to keep enough red cell units stocked and ready to meet expected demand from hospitals.
The blood types that are in low supply are: A-positive, A-negative, B-negative, 0-positive.
Ms Falkenmire urged everyone to donate - even those who don't know their blood type - to ensure there is enough blood supply to help those in need.
