Imposter or Saviour?

The Bombay blood group is a rare blood type that was first identified in 1952 in a small group of people in the area surrounding Bombay, by Dr. Y. M. Bhende. Blood groups or types are identified by the antigen present on the Red blood cells (RBCs) in blood. Thus, based on the type of antigen, there are four blood groups- Group A ( with Type A antigens), Group B (with Type-B antigens), Group AB (with both Type A and B antigens) and Type O (with neither A nor B antigens). Instead Type O has an antigen H, which is the basic building block for Type A and Type B antigens. The gene that codes for “H” antigen is different from the gene that controls the presence/absence of Types-A and B antigens.

Persons with Bombay blood group do not express this “H” antigen. Through normal genetic inheritance from parents, a person with Bombay blood group is supposed to have A, B, AB or O blood group. But as the basic building block of ‘H’ antigen is not synthesized in them, the A/B/AB or O blood type also cannot be expressed.

Instead, their blood serum develops antibodies to not just type-A and B antigens, but also to H-antigen, thus making the Bombay type blood react even with the universal donor, blood Type-O. This means that they cannot receive blood from any member of the ABO blood group system but only from other people who have Bombay phenotype.

It occurs in about 0.0004% (about 4 per million) of the human population, though in some places such as Mumbai locals can have occurrences in as much as 0.01% (1 in 10,000) of inhabitants. It is also common in the Indian natives settled in Reunion Island.

“The old man and his fancies”, grumbled Suraj, as he drove the car to the Mumbai airport. His trusted aide, Ajay, sat beside him in the car, hanging on to his words. “If only my father had married within the family”, he continued grumbling, “Today, I might have been the sole heir to all his wealth. But look at my fate! Here I am, going to pick up my cousin, who’s going to take away all that should be mine!”

“Is he your dad’s brother’s son?” Ajay wanted to know.
“No, you idiot. My dad doesn’t have any brothers. He just had a sister, who married a cousin and moved to the States. And they never came back to India. It’s only because Dadaji fell ill and they couldn’t get any willing blood donor that he thought of this other grandson of his. Apparently he has the rare blood type called the Bombay blood group that runs in the family….”
“… which you don’t have”, sighed Ajay.

“Now the old man says he’ll write half his property in the name of this upstart who’s going to save his life! Tell me, is that fair? Shouldn’t the inheritance come to me, his only son’s son?”
“Of course, of course!” Ajay nodded vigorously. “But what can you do about it now? The old man has developed complications and is in no state to even talk. If he has already decided, you’ll only get a share of his vast estate. Plus he has his loyal secretaries and legal advisors by his side always, telling him what to do. And it must be noted that they don’t like you much!”

Suraj gritted his teeth. “Poisoning his ears against me all the time! But today, I’ll get even with all of them.”

Ajay gave a start. “You have a plan? What are you going to do?”
Suraj smirked. “They made a mistake in giving me this job of fetching my darling cousin from the airport”, he said. “I wasn’t too keen either, but now I think it’s a blessing in disguise.”
Ajay stared at him with wide eyes.

“Look Ajay, no one has ever seen this guy- my cousin Rohan. Only I’ve seen a photo of him. What if I pick up a random guy from the airport and take him to the hospital saying it’s Rohan? The blood type won’t match, they won’t have time to save Dadaji’s life as they need to carry out the surgery immediately, and I will inherit everything as Dadaji won’t be able to write off anything to anyone!” said Suraj gleefully.

“But who will come with us like that?” Ajay protested. “You can’t just pick up someone there! It will be a case of kidnapping! There’s security all around! And whoever it is, is going to put up a struggle!”
Suraj laughed. “Yes yes, I know all that”, he said. “But there will be no kidnapping, Ajay. It is only going to be a case of mistaken identity!”

“How is that possible?” asked Ajay.
“Well, see that placard with Rohan written on it? We have to hold it up for him to spot us and identify us as his escorts”, said Suraj. “And luckily for us, there are atleast seven different Rohans landing here at the airport at this time today from various places!”

“How did you get this information?” asked Ajay in awe.
“Oh, I have my sources”, winked Suraj. “I know people who have access to passenger lists. And also people in various places who can find out their background and why they’re coming here.” “Woah! You must have spent a fortune on this! A thousand or two won’t suffice to pay for such confidential information!” exclaimed Ajay.

“That is nothing compared to the fortune I’ll get from Dadaji if I pull this off”, muttered Suraj, as they reached the airport. He started giving instructions to Ajay. “Now, the real Rohan’s flight will land only in another twenty minutes. Meanwhile, we need to hold up this placard for any of the other Rohans to spot us. And we take the first guy who comes. I’ve kept a drink laced with sedatives in the car, and as soon as this guy gets in, make sure he drinks it, okay?

That way he won’t be in a position to deny or confirm anything at the hospital. And don’t answer any questions he asks, just keep your mouth shut. ”The passengers of an international flight had just started trooping out. Ajay held up the placard, looking around. Sure enough, a man who seemed to be in his early twenties walked up to them. “Hi, I’m Rohan”, he said, smiling.

“I guess you are the driver my uncle sent to pick me up?” Ajay grunted in reply. “Car’s outside”, said Suraj gruffly, discouraging any further conversation. “Okay”, said Rohan, following them outside to the car, not at all suspicious. But he was quite talkative.
“Uncle sonnaanga ungalkkum Thamizh theriyum”, Rohan started chattering away in Tamil the moment he settled down in the car. Ajay and Suraj gave each other worried looks.

Rohan misunderstood their expressions. “Oh, you don’t know Tamil? But I thought Uncle said he had a Tamilian driver. Okay never mind, you seem to speak good English. I don’t know Hindi though. I learnt Hindi long ago when I stayed here for a short time in St. John’s Convent…”

Ajay and Suraj panicked. They hadn’t known they would get such a bothersome passenger! Suraj nudged Ajay, who remembered the cool drink. He shoved the drink into Rohan’s hands. Rohan gratefully accepted the drink and gulped it down. In no time, he was sleeping like a baby. Suraj heaved a sigh of relief. “To the hospital!” he roared, and at the hospital they took in the unconscious Rohan to the surgical ward.

“He’s here, doctor”, panted Suraj. “But he seems to be drunk. He is in no state to donate blood.” The family lawyer glanced at Suraj suspiciously. He had always felt that Suraj was up to no good. Had he harmed Rohan to kill two birds with one stone? He spoke to the doctor in a whisper. The doctor whisked away Rohan to another room. The effect of the sedatives seemed to be wearing off, and he groaned in his semi-conscious state. “Where am I?” he mumbled.

“Are you Rohan?” asked the doctor. “Are you alright?”
“Yes… I feel drowsy though”, Rohan muttered.
The doctor immediately called for the nurse, who took Rohan’s blood sample to test. “It’s the right one, Doctor!” she called. Rohan hardly understood what was happening as his blood was taken for Dadaji’s surgery.
“Have I been in an accident?” he asked, completely dazed.

“Everything’s going to be alright, Mr. Rohan”, said the doctor reassuringly.
Suraj, meanwhile was impatiently waiting for the doctor to declare that Rohan had the wrong blood group and that the surgery could not take place. After a while, the doctor announced that they were taking Dadaji to the Operating theatre. Flummoxed, Suraj went up to the lawyer. “Er… They’re sure he has the Bombay blood group?” The lawyer frowned. “Of course he does.. why—” Just then the lawyer’s phone rang. “Hello? Yes? What? But….I’ll get back to you.”

The lawyer walked out hurriedly. Suraj slammed his fist on the wall. “Dash it!” he cried in fury. “How can this be?”
Ajay consoled him. “Never mind…there is no guarantee that the surgery will be a success.” A little later, the lawyer came in, but accompanied by some policemen. “Arrest these two!” he shouted, pointing at Suraj and Ajay. Suraj tried to escape, but in vain. “You brought in an imposter here while the real Rohan is waiting at the airport!” said the lawyer. “It was a mistake!” cried Suraj as he was being led away. “A mistake!”

“You can give your reasons in court”, said the lawyer firmly, as the “donor” Rohan came there, looking puzzled. “What’s happening?” he asked. “Where are you from, Mr. Rohan?” asked the doctor calmly. “I’m from Reunion Island— you know – that island in the Indian Ocean – region of France—”

“Ah! That explains everything”, said the doctor. “You see Mr. Rohan, an unlucky rogue thought of letting his grandfather die by bringing you here to impersonate the blood donor. But it turns out that you have the very rare Bombay Blood group- which was first discovered in Bombay – but is also common in Indians staying on Reunion Island.”

“But I thought the “O” blood group is the universal donor blood group?” asked Rohan. “Yes it is, but people with Bombay blood type can accept a donation only from the Bombay type, as it reacts with all other blood types, including O. It is a stroke of luck for us that they unwittingly chose an imposter with the Bombay blood type!” “Well, I am glad that my role as an imposter saved someone’s life!” said Rohan smiling.