| Blood transfusions were first
attempted around 1600 by transfusing animal Blood into humans. It proved disastrous. In
the early 1800s an English obstetrician, James Blundell, came up with the idea of human
Blood for human beings. Not until the 1900s were the basic four Blood types identified by
Karl Landsteiner. Subsequently, the success of Blood transfusion significantly increased
when patients were transfused with their same type. Now, research has shown that
transfusion with the exact type is even better. Humans can, by present day standards and practices,
receive Blood that may not be their precise same Blood type. Find your Blood type on the
chart below to discover which other Blood types present standards permit you to receive.
One important note: in the past, type O Blood
was given to virtually anyone except those with what was termed 'rare' Blood. Donors of
Blood group O were always referred to as 'universal donors.' Today, because of new
research and a better understanding of the complex issues regarding immune reaction
related to incompatible donor Blood cells, type O Blood is no longer automatically seen as
being suitable in most every case.
Following are some charts to help explain
Blood types. The charts represent the general population of the United States. Racial and
ethnic backgrounds will differ.
What Blood Type Can
Donate to Me?**
NOTE: Distribution is different for every racial and ethnic population group.
** NOTE: Recent Blood research
indicates that where, at one time, a person with type O negative Blood was considered to
be a 'universal donor,' this may no longer be correct, because of a better understanding
of the complex issues of immune reactions related to incompatible donor Blood cells.
Blood Types and Compatibility Chart
There are some good reasons for a husband to
not donate Blood to his wife during her childbearing years. During this
time, a women who plans to become pregnant, receiving Blood from her husband may pose a
small risk to the infants born of these pregnancies. If, after the Blood transfusion the
woman develops an antibody to an antigen on the father's red Blood cells, and the
subsequently born fetus inherits the father's red cell antigen, the antibody from the
mother may enter the Bloodstream of the fetus causing destruction of fetal red Blood
cells. This may cause serious anemia in the fetus and excessive jaundice in the infant
after birth. This is a known major cause of brain damage. Special Blood transfusions,
using selected red Blood cells that do not have the particular in-compatible and offending
antigen, are available when this condition is pre-diagnosed. Of course, we suggest
autologous Blood donation for the mother. However, for those mothers who are unable to
make an autologous donation, the decision to select her husband as a donor should always
take this risk under consideration, and specific consultation with your pediatrician on
this subject is essential.
Who Has Which
Blood Type?
| TYPES
|
DISTRIBUTION |
RATIOS |
| O + |
1 person in 3 |
38.4% |
| O - |
1 person in 15 |
7.7% |
| A + |
1 person in 3 |
32.3% |
| A - |
1 person in 16 |
6.5% |
| B + |
1 person in 12 |
9.4% |
| B - |
1 person in 67 |
1.7% |
| AB + |
1 person in 29 |
3.2% |
| AB - |
1 person in 167 |
0.7% |
|
The Gift That Keeps On Giving
People of O Negative type Blood, by present
day standards and practices, are known as “Universal Donors” because in an
emergency, it has been commonly believed that anyone can receive type “O” red
Blood cells.
Persons with AB Blood type, by present day
standards and practices, can receive red Blood cells of any ABO Blood type. Those persons
with type Blood type AB, by present day standards and practices, are known as
“universal receivers." In addition, AB Blood plasma donors can give Blood plasma
to all Blood types.
Who Donates Blood in
the United States?
Median Age |
38 years old |
| Male |
53% of Red Cross donors |
| Female |
47% of Red Cross donors |
| Repeat donors |
79.3% of Red Cross donors |
| First-time donors |
20.7% of Red Cross donors |
The
Theory of Evolution
Oh, yes..... one more thing on
the subject of evolution. Many published studies over recent years have shown that
chimpanzees mostly have Blood type A, almost no Blood type O, but never Blood type B. The
other great ape, the gorilla has Blood type B, almost no Blood type O, but never Blood
type A. In these 'man-apes' species, said to be the ancestors of man, there is NO Blood
type AB in either. Generally speaking, man has both Blood types A and B, and Blood type
AB. Blood type O, in man is by far the most common in virtually every racial group.
Chart
In Blood banks in the United
States, the most common types of Blood cause the greatest concern. Many people with O+ and
A+ do not donate. The rationale seems to be that potential donors believe that because
they are of a common Blood type that their Blood is not needed. What they fail to think
about is, YES, they are of common type, but most Blood users are also of common type;
consequently O+ and A+ are used more than twice as much as any other donor types!
The Blood That You
Inherited
Blood Type Inheritance Chart
and
ABO Blood Types and Parentage Calculator
AB
People with Blood type AB negative (1/2% of the population) and AB positive are potential
universal plasma donors. This means plasma can be transfused to people having all Blood
types.
AB +
People with Blood type AB positive comprise 3-1/2% of the population. People with this
type of Blood are universal recipients. This means that they can be transfused with any
type of Blood in emergency situations.
O +
O positive donors are needed more frequently than any other donor. Because O positive is
the most common Blood type (39% of the population), it is needed more often by people
requiring Blood in hospitals.
O -
7% of the population has O negative Blood. People with O negative donors are potential
universal red Blood cell donors. This means that their red Blood cells can be transfused
to patients with all types of Blood.
Simply put, your Blood is tested for ABO/Rh.
These tests identify your 'Blood type.' You may have A, B, O, or AB type Blood and may be
either Rh+ or Rh-. The basis of the Blood group tests is the ability to detect specific
substances, or antigens, on the red Blood cells. The A antigen is on type A cells; the B
antigen is on type B cells. If neither A nor B antigens are detected, the donor has type O
Blood; if both are present, the donor has type AB Blood. If the major Rh antigen is
present, the donor is Rh+ (for example, O+, A+, B+, or AB+); if not, the donor is Rh- (O-,
A-, B-, or AB-).
There are more than 600 other antigens that
have now been identified on red Blood cells. These sub-types are important, but often not
considered. |
