Blood Types: What to Know (2024)

What Are Blood Types?

While everyone’s blood is made up of the same basic parts, there’s a lot of variety in the kinds of blood that exist. There are eight different blood types, and the type you have depends on genes you inherit from your parents.

Most people have about 4-6 liters of blood. Your blood is made up of different kinds of cells that float in a fluid called plasma:

  • Your red blood cells deliver oxygen to the various tissues in your body and remove carbon dioxide.

  • Your white blood cells destroy invaders and fight infection.

  • Your platelets help your blood to clot.

  • Your plasma is a fluid made up of proteins and salts.

What makes your blood different from someone else’s is your unique combination of protein molecules, called antigens and antibodies.

Antigens live on the surface of your red blood cells. Antibodies are in your plasma.

The combination of antigens and antibodies in your blood is the basis of your blood type.

The Different Blood Types

There are eight different blood types:

  • A positive: This is one of the most common blood types (35.7% of the U.S. population has it). Someone with this type can give blood only to people who are A positive or AB positive.

  • A negative: Someone with this rare type (6.3% of the U.S. population) can give blood to anyone with A or AB blood type.

  • B positive: Someone with this rare type (8.5%) can give blood only to people who are B positive or AB positive.

  • B negative: Someone with this very rare type (1.5%) can give blood to anyone with B or AB blood type.

  • AB positive: People with this rare blood type (3.4%) can receive blood or plasma of any type. They’re known as universal recipients.

  • AB negative: This is the rarest blood type -- only 0.6% of the U.S. population has it. Someone with this blood type is known as a “universal plasma donor,” because anyone can receive this type of plasma.

  • O positive: This is one of the most common blood types (37.4%). Someone with this can give blood to anyone with a positive blood type.

  • O negative: Someone with this rare blood type (6.6%) can give blood to anyone with any blood type.

The four major blood groups are based on whether or not you have two specific antigens -- A and B. Doctors call this the ABO Blood Group System.

  • Group A has the A antigen and B antibody.

  • Group B has the B antigen and the A antibody.

  • Group AB has A and B antigens but neither A nor B antibodies.

  • Group O doesn’t have A or B antigens but has both A and B antibodies.

The third kind of antigen is called the Rh factor. You either have this antigen (meaning your blood type is “Rh+” or “positive”), or you don’t (meaning your blood type is “Rh-” or “negative”).

Blood Type Importance

Blood groups were discovered in 1901 by an Austrian scientist named Karl Landsteiner. Before that, doctors thought all blood was the same, so many people were dying from blood transfusions.

Now experts know that if you mix blood from two people with different blood types, the blood can clump, which may be fatal. That’s because the person receiving the transfusion has antibodies that will actually fight the cells of the donor blood, causing a toxic reaction.

In order for a blood transfusion to be safe and effective, it’s important for the donor and the recipient to have blood types that go together. People with blood group A can safely get group A blood, and people with blood group B can receive group B blood.

It’s best when a donor and recipient are an exact match and their blood goes through a process called crossmatching. But the donor doesn’t always need to have the exact same type of blood as the person receiving it. Their types just have to be compatible.

Best Blood Types to Donate

Type O negative red blood cells are considered the safest to give to anyone in a life-threatening emergency or when there’s a limited supply of the exact matching blood type. That's because type O negative blood cells don't have antibodies to A, B or Rh antigens.

People with O negative blood were once called “universal” red cell donors because it was thought they could donate blood to anyone with any blood type. But now experts know there can even be risks with this type of blood.

Blood Type Diet

Over the past decade, there have been many claims about a so-called “blood type diet,” in which you eat specific foods for your blood type in order to lower your risk of certain diseases and improve your overall health. There’s no scientific evidence that eating for your blood type makes you any healthier.

Blood Types: What to Know (2024)

FAQs

Blood Types: What to Know? ›

According to the American Heart Association, A, B, and AB blood types are associated with a greater risk of heart attack due to coronary artery disease than type O blood. In particular, people with AB blood appear to have the highest risk.

What is the unhealthiest blood type? ›

According to the American Heart Association, A, B, and AB blood types are associated with a greater risk of heart attack due to coronary artery disease than type O blood. In particular, people with AB blood appear to have the highest risk.

What should I know about a blood type? ›

Blood types are determined by the presence or absence of certain antigens – substances that can trigger an immune response if they are foreign to the body. Since some antigens can trigger a patient's immune system to attack the transfused blood, safe blood transfusions depend on careful blood typing and cross-matching.

What should an O+ blood type eat? ›

Diets for Group O Blood Type

Eat lots of meat. Your digestive system can handle red meat well. Eat seafood on a regular basis to help your thyroid. Keep the levels of dairy products (milk and cheese) and eggs in the moderate level to prevent lipids and cholesterol build up.

Is O+ a general donor? ›

Although the blood type O+ can donate blood to all positive blood types (A+, B+, AB+, and O+), it is not a universal donor. Blood type O- is the universal blood donor, meaning that people with this blood type can donate blood to all other types with a lower risk of causing serious reactions.

What blood type is healthiest? ›

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).

Which blood type lives the longest? ›

Blood type B was observed more frequently in centenarians than in controls (χ2=8.41, P=0.04). This tendency also was true in comparison between centenarians and 118 elderly old individuals of the 7153.

What is the best blood type to be? ›

What is the healthiest blood type?
  • People with type O blood have the lowest risk of heart disease while people with B and AB have the highest.
  • People with A and AB blood have the highest rates of stomach cancer.

What blood type do mosquitoes like? ›

Blood Types Mosquitoes Love Most

According to a study in the National Center for Biotechnology Information, here's how the blood types stack up: Type O: The findings came to the conclusion that humans with Type O blood have mosquitoes land on them the most, making Type O blood more appetizing than the others.

Which blood group is most resistant to diseases? ›

Carriers of blood group 0 (I) are generally more resistant to diseases, with the exception of H. pylori-associated gastrointestinal diseases. Carriers of «antigenic» blood groups A (II), B (III), AB (IV) are more susceptible to development of infectious, cardiovascular and cancer diseases.

Can O+ and O have a baby? ›

For example, parents who both have Type O will always pass on their own blood type. However, parents who both have Type B can have a child with either Type O or B, and parents who both have Type A can have a child with either Type O or A. A combination of Type A and Type B can lead to any blood type.

What is blood type O allergic to? ›

Type O reacted most to dairy, eggs, gluten grains, and nightshades. Type AB reacted most to nuts and beans, seafood, eggs, and dairy; while A2B also reacted to gluten grains. Type Rh-negative was most reactive to eggs, dairy, nuts and beans, and gluten grains.

What is special about o-positive blood? ›

Over 80% of the population has a positive blood type and can receive O positive blood. That's another reason it's in such high demand. O positive donors who are CMV negative are known as Heroes for Babies at the Red Cross because it is the safest blood for transfusions for immune deficient newborns.

What does O+ powerful mean? ›

The Power of O+

O+ is the most common blood type and that is what makes it so powerful. 37% of the population has O+ blood. Since more people have O+ blood than any other blood type, it is transfused more often. Having the most popular blood puts O+ donors in a unique situation.

What's the difference between o positive and o negative? ›

If the Rh factor is present on the red cells, then the person is considered positive (+). Conversely, if the Rh factor is not found on the red cell surface, the person is considered negative (-).

What is the personality of O+ blood type? ›

What is the personality of O+? Based on the concept of blood type personalities, people with blood type O positive are often confident, self-determined, optimistic, and strong-willed. They are sometimes believed to be natural leaders, passionate, and resilient. They're also thought to be outgoing and sociable.

Which blood group has the shortest life expectancy? ›

People whose blood type is A, B or AB have an increased risk of heart disease and shorter life spans than people who have type O blood, according to a new study.

Which blood group is bad for health? ›

If you are not blood type O, your ABO gene can put you at risk for heart issues. This is especially true if you live in an area with high pollution levels. It can increase the risk of coronary artery disease in blood types A, B, and AB.

What is the fattest blood type? ›

Highlights. Some ABO blood group may differently influence BMI, according to gender. For women, blood types B and O was associated with a greater prevalence of obesity. For men, the O and B blood groups were associated with a decreased prevalence of obesity.

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