Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person in the United States to be diagnosed with Ebola and who later died, didn't receive a blood transfusion from a physician who survived the virus because their blood types didn't match. Dr. Kent Brantly told ABC News today that his blood type is A+, while Duncan's family has said his blood type was B+, making them incompatible for a transfusion of whole blood or plasma. Blood transfusions from someone
who successfully battled the virus are believed to possibly be beneficial to Ebola patients. Had Duncan received a blood transfusion from Brantly, it would have caused hemolysis - the breakdown of red blood cells - according to Dr. Christopher Stowell, director of Transfusion Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.
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