Dubbo's Nepalese community have come together and rolled up their sleeves to help a mother with a rare blood type awaiting open-heart surgery.
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On Wednesday, members of the Dubbo Nepalese Community Australia dropped into the blood donation centre on Darling Street to give blood as part of a drive to help 37-year-old Amira, who has a blood type so rare that just one in 10,000 people may be a match.
Amira is currently awaiting urgent open-heart surgery in an Adelaide hospital where doctors expect she will need more than 20 bags of blood prior to, during and after the procedure.
"We are immensely grateful to all the wonderful individuals who travelled from far and wide to the donor centre, selflessly giving the gift of life through blood donation," the Dubbo Nepalese Community wrote on Facebook.
"This remarkable achievement would not have been possible without the unwavering support of our community members."
"Together, we have exemplified the spirit of unity and compassion, reminding us of the power we possess when we join hands for a common cause."
Amira's husband Ahmed thanked the Dubbo Nepalese Community and all the other donors who have come forward over the past week to give blood in the hope of being a match.
"We are so grateful to family, friends and the wonderful people in the community, many of whom we do not know, who have heard about Amira's plight and have rolled up a sleeve to donate blood," he said.
"I urge as many people as possible across the country with O and A blood to donate blood this week, so we can find more donors to help Amira."
Lifeblood Medical Director Dr James Daly said any O or A blood donor could be a match for Amira.
"Most people will be either O or A blood type, but Amira has a rare combination of other blood types that need to be matched, which means any donor with O or A blood type might prove to be a perfect match," he said.
"We have identified a few suitable donors, but this mum will require a large number of units to see her through her surgery and finding as many donors as we can with the right blood type will ensure we can meet her transfusion needs both now and, in the future."
All donated blood over the coming weeks will be tested to identify donations that will undergo further screening to find a suitable match.
"We've exhausted Australian supplies of this rare blood type and we're now working with international blood services to search for potential donors," Dr Daly said.
"We hope to receive a small number of units from overseas but for Amira's surgery to proceed safely at least 15 donors with the same rare combination of blood types are still needed within the next few weeks."
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