Rare blood types (2024)

What makes blood rare?

Although the ABO and Rh groups are the most important for blood transfusions, there are 36 other known blood groups.

Each blood group has a combination of sugars and proteins called antigens that are found on the outside of red blood cells.

There are more than 600 antigens so there’s potential for a lot of variation between different people.

If your blood has rare antigens or lacks common antigens you could have a rare subtype.

Why are rare blood subtypes important?

Most blood transfusions are based on the ABO and Rh groups.

But if someone needs ongoing transfusions, blood works best when it closely matches their own.

If you have a rare subtype, your blood could be vital for a patient who also shares that subtype.

If you give blood, you'll find out if you have a rare subtype afteryour first donation.

Rare blood types (2024)

FAQs

Rare blood types? ›

Only 7% of the population are O negative. However, the need for O negative blood is the highest because it is used most often during emergencies. The need for O+ is high because it is the most frequently occurring blood type (37% of the population).

Is O+ blood rare? ›

Only 7% of the population are O negative. However, the need for O negative blood is the highest because it is used most often during emergencies. The need for O+ is high because it is the most frequently occurring blood type (37% of the population).

How rare is blood? ›

How Rare Is My Type?*
Blood TypeHow Many Have ItFrequency
A +1 person in 335.7%
A –1 person in 166.3%
B +1 person in 128.5%
B –1 person in 671.5%
4 more rows

Why is Rh negative so rare? ›

Rh- is rare partially because of how it is inherited: Rh- is a recessive trait. A recessive trait is only visible when you inherit it from both parents. In contrast, a dominant trait shows up even if you only inherit it from one parent. So someone with DNA for both Rh+ and Rh- will have positive type blood.

What is the healthiest blood type? ›

Of the eight main blood types, people with Type O have the lowest risk for heart attacks and blood clots in the legs and lungs. This may be because people with other blood types have higher levels of certain clotting factors, which are proteins that cause blood to coagulate (solidify).

What blood type rejects pregnancy? ›

If the mother is Rh-negative, her immune system treats Rh-positive fetal cells as if they were a foreign substance. The mother's body makes antibodies against the fetal blood cells. These antibodies may cross back through the placenta into the developing baby. They destroy the baby's circulating red blood cells.

What is O+ powerful? ›

Over 80% of patients can receive O+ blood

Type O+ blood is given to patients more than any other blood type and that is why it's considered the most needed blood type.

Can O+ blood go to everyone? ›

Who can receive O positive blood? Anyone with an Rh positive blood type can receive O positive red blood cells – so that's A positive, B positive and AB positive as well as O positive. That means 3 in 4 people, or around 76% of the population, can benefit from your donation.

Can O+ have a baby with O? ›

A. Before I delve into the science, let me quickly stop any tongues that might be wagging if you are asking about a paternity debate: Yes, two O-positive parents could have any number of O-negative children. In fact, according to the experts, most children who are O-negative have parents who are O-positive.

What is the royal blood? ›

Royal blood means being a blood relative…a direct relative…of a royal/reigning family. Your relation can be determined in just the same as with any family, that you have provable family ties to that family. The more distant the ties are, the less likely you will be considered “royal”.

What is the hardest blood to get? ›

What's the rarest blood type? AB negative is the rarest of the eight main blood types - just 1% of our donors have it. Despite being rare, demand for AB negative blood is low and we don't struggle to find donors with AB negative blood. However, some blood types are both rare and in demand.

What blood type do mosquitoes like? ›

The mosquitoes chose the Type O feeder more than any other. That research supports the findings of another key study from 2004, which showed that mosquitoes land on people with Type O blood far more often than those with other blood types.

Why is Rh negative? ›

The Rh factor is an inherited protein that can be found on the surface of the red blood cell. If your blood type is positive, then your blood cells have the Rh protein. If your blood type is negative, then your blood cells lack the Rh protein.

What is golden blood? ›

A general definition of a rare blood type is one that happens at a rate of 1 per 1,000 people or fewer. One of the world's rarest blood types is Rh-null. Fewer than 50 people in the world have this blood type. It's so rare that it's sometimes called “golden blood.”

What blood type is most in demand? ›

Type O is generally the most in-demand blood type because it can be transfused with the most patients, regardless of blood type. O-negative blood can be given to a patient with any other blood type, which is why people with this most needed blood type are called universal donors.

Which blood group has a weak immune system? ›

It is not accurate to say that a specific blood type has the weakest immune system. The immune system's strength and efficiency depend on various factors such as genetics, lifestyle, and overall health. Blood type does not directly determine the strength of one's immune system.

What is the hardest blood type to find? ›

What's the rarest blood type? AB negative is the rarest of the eight main blood types - just 1% of our donors have it. Despite being rare, demand for AB negative blood is low and we don't struggle to find donors with AB negative blood. However, some blood types are both rare and in demand.

What is the life expectancy of a Rh negative person? ›

Contexts in source publication. ... the relationship between Rh antigen and survival was evaluated, no significant difference was found. The mean survival times in Rh-positive , and negative patients were 65.3, and 64.3 months, respectively (Table 4, Figure 2).

References

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