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? ›

Group AB can donate to other AB's but can receive from all others. Group B can donate red blood cells to B's and AB's. Group A can donate red blood cells to A's and AB's. Group O can donate red blood cells to anybody.

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 should I know about a blood type? ›

What are blood types?
  • A positive: Common; can donate blood to other A positive and AB positive.
  • A negative: Rare; can donate blood to A and AB.
  • B positive: Rare; can donate blood to B positive and AB positive.
  • B negative: Very rare; can donate blood to B or AB.
Nov 2, 2023

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.

What is the rarest blood type? ›

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.”

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.

Which blood group has the highest IQ? ›

Numerous researches have been conducted in different population group- ings to look for a possible relation between these two traits. In 2014, a study conducted in Jordan found significant associa- tion between blood group and intelligence with the highest IQ levels reported among individuals with 'AB' blood type [13].

Which is the weakest blood group? ›

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 blood type do mosquitoes like? ›

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. Type B: Type B placed second in popularity. Type A: Type A Blood Type apparently tastes the worst to mosquitoes.

What should blood type A avoid? ›

Those with type A blood should choose fruit, vegetables, tofu, seafood, turkey, and whole grains but avoid meat. For weight loss, seafood, vegetables, pineapple, olive oil, and soy are best; dairy, wheat, corn, and kidney beans should be avoided.

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 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. The highest IgE scores were among types B and Rh-negative.

What diseases are type O blood prone to? ›

Diseases more common in people with type O were:
  • familial Mediterranean fever.
  • systemic lupus erythematosus.
  • systemic sclerosis.
  • Sjögren's syndrome.
Jun 10, 2021

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 the most needed blood type? ›

Types O negative and O positive are in high demand. 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).

Can a person change their blood type? ›

As red blood cell antigens are inherited traits, they are usually not altered throughout the life of an individual. There have been occasional case reports of ABO blood group antigen change in malignant conditions.

Which blood type has the most benefits? ›

O negative blood can be used in transfusions for any blood type. Type O is routinely in short supply and in high demand by hospitals – both because it is the most common blood type and because type O negative blood is the universal blood type needed for emergency transfusions and for immune deficient infants.

Which blood group is best for the brain? ›

The ABO gene is connected with brain function and memory loss. People who have blood types A, B, and AB are up to 82 percent more likely to develop cognition and memory problems — which can lead to dementia — compared to those with Type O.

What is the most ideal blood type? ›

O negative is the universal blood type. O negative blood type can only receive O negative blood. O negative 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 blood type has no antibodies? ›

The ABO system

blood group A – has A antigens on the red blood cells with anti-B antibodies in the plasma. blood group B – has B antigens with anti-A antibodies in the plasma. blood group O – has no antigens, but both anti-A and anti-B antibodies in the plasma. blood group AB – has both A and B antigens, but no ...

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