Lee, who is also a professor at the University of Washington.
"I think it's good in general to know about your health, but specifically, the two areas where comes up would be transfusion or in pregnancy,” says Dr. The Red Cross considers people with Type O- blood the “universal blood donor,” because it can be used in emergency blood transfusions for any other blood type.īut do you really need to know your blood type? For most people, it isn’t actually very important, says Stephanie Lee, M.D., president of the American Society of Hematology and associate director of the Clinical Research Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
AB- is the rarest, occurring in less than 1% of Americans. In the United States, O+ is the most common blood type, found in about 37% of the population, followed by A+ in around 36% of people, according to the Stanford School of Medicine Blood Center. The eight common blood types: A+, A-, B+, B-, O+, O-, AB+, and AB. The protein rhesus (also known as Rh) factor may also be present, known as positive, or absent, known as negative. People with neither A or B antigens have what's called Type O blood. The main blood groups are based on the presence or absence of two antigens, A and B, on the surface of our red blood cells. Put simply, an antigen is a substance that prompts an immune response in the body it triggers your immune system to get into gear. Your blood type is something you’re born with, and it’s determined by your parents' genetics - specifically, whether or not certain antigens are present in your body, according to the American Red Cross. There are a few simple ways you can find out your blood type before discussing any potential risks with your healthcare provider. It's clear that blood type, among other aspects of inherited genetics, may influence your health more than you know - an important topic to discuss with your doctor. And according to experts at the University of Pennsylvania, those with A, B, and AB blood types also have a 6% greater risk of developing coronary heart disease the same blood types are also linked to an 82% greater likelihood of developing memory issues, compared to Type O. Those with AB and A blood types are also more likely to develop stomach cancer, per a recent study published in BioMed Central Cancer.
Certain blood types are associated with higher risks for a string of cancers, based on data pulled from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, for example. And Lowe-Payne emphasizes that any blood type is susceptible to severe symptoms, despite these studies.īut there are other diseases and risks outside of the pandemic that may also be influenced by your blood type. However, another study published in July counters some of these findings, illustrating a lack of concrete evidence in a connection between blood type and COVID-19. According to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine in June, data suggests that people with Type A blood may be at greater risk for contracting COVID-19 and experiencing severe symptoms, while people with Type O blood have a lower risk. "Most people actually don’t know their blood type unless they've had some type of procedure done or a recent visit that required a blood type ," explains Tiffany Lowe-Payne, DO, a North Carolina-based osteopathic family physician, who also serves as an assistant professor at Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine.īut a recent revelation in research during the novel coronavirus pandemic has people suddenly very interested in understanding which kind of blood pumps through their veins. A 2019 survey by Quest Diagnostics, a clinical laboratory company, found that 43% of Americans don’t know their blood types. Blood can play a huge role in your health, and yet many people don't know their blood type - or haven't even discussed the topic with a doctor.
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