Rh negative blood in Japan & rhogam shot

I am probably getting waaaaaay ahead of myself here, but does anyone know how readily available Rh- blood is in Japan for transfusions and whatnot? I’m A- and have some massive anxiety about getting injured and needing a transfusion, and then bleeding out because of not having blood available since Rh- negative blood is so rare in Japan.

Additionally, I am curious about the availability of rhogam shots. For those who don’t know, when an Rh- mother is carrying an Rh+ baby (which will be the case unless the father is also Rh-), she will need to receive a rhogam shot during pregnancy and after giving birth so that her body doesn’t form antibodies that would attack the baby or any future babies. This also needs to be done in the event of miscarriage or abortion.

I am not planning to get pregnant and will be actively avoiding that. But IF that were to happen, and IF I were to miscarry/have an abortion, or even carry a pregnancy to term, how hard would it be to find a hospital that can administer a rhogam shot?

If it helps, I’d be in Okinawa so thought maybe the proximity to all of the bases would increase the chances of availability (of both A- blood as needed and rhogam shots). That being said, I am not military and neither is my partner, so it’s not like I’d have access to any of the medical care there.

ETA: Partner is Japanese, but we are not married. He is looking to move back for an unspecified period of time to take care of his aging grandmother. Because of that, I am aware that the time I would be able to be there would be limited. If I were to decide to carry a hypothetical pregnancy to term, I would return to the US. But in the event of needing a blood transfusion, or a rhogam shot after abortion or miscarriage (must be administered within 72 hours), I’d like to have my bases covered.

8 comments
  1. I’m A- and in Okinawa (not military). I try to donate when I can, but haven’t done it recently…I should go donate soon. Our blood type is fairly rare in Japan unfortunately. I remember a few years back there was a big effort on Line to find an urgent donor for an A- baby here so it seems like they don’t usually have much available on hand.

  2. As an anecdote, I am O- Rh- one of the rarest. When I had my ningen doc appt. I got a D- score on this aspect with a note that my blood is very rare in japan and I should be aware.
    And to add, I cannot donate blood because I have a tattoo and had a placenta shot in the past. Not sure what to do … but I can tell you that I am sure to wear a helmet when I ride my bicycle ..

  3. I am A-, registered with the Red Cross and I donate blood when I can.
    I don’t have kids and don’t want them, so can’t speak to that, however.

  4. Im currently pregnant. Located in Osaka. i found out that I’m B- and my husband is A+, and I’m actually at the clinic right now to get my 28 week rhogam shot. I will also receive another dose soon after the baby is born.

    I’ve had a lot of blood work since my pregnancy began and i also had a similar fear about the need of a blood transfusion when i have such a rare blood type here, but they told us that there are work around for it in an emergency (unfortunately it was all a lot to take in since i didn’t even know i was rh- until that moment and i can’t remember exactly what they said but something regarding plasma)

    sorry i can’t be of more help about transfusions, but if you ever need the Rhgram shot it is available here.

  5. I don’t know about the blood transfusions. About pregnancy, you have to ask for the rogham shot as it is not standardly done here, but it is available on demand.

  6. I was recently pregnant in Japan. Very early on, even though the hospital had on record that I’m O+ (don’t donate blood because of a past cancer, sorry), they did the Rh test to make absolutely sure of my blood type and Rh status in case I needed a shot. The shot will be easily available at whatever maternity clinic you use for your checkups, or they will direct you to the nearest hospital to administer the shot. For all the shit I give the system here, and the issues I had while pregnant, they didn’t fuck around with the Rh status issue.

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