ABO Blood Types

There are 4 main types of blood: Type A, Type B, Type AB, and Type O. They are classified into 4 groups because blood transfusions require a specific process. Each type can only give and receive a certain type of blood, otherwise serious consequences as heavy as death may arise. An easy thing to note, though, is that Type O can give to any blood type and type AB can receive any type of blood.

Blood type O is the most common type in the world, being most prevalent in South and Central America. Type B is prevalent in Asia, especially Northern India, and Type A is the second most common throughout the world, especially in the Blackfoot Indians of Montana and the Sami people of northern Scandinavia. Blood types are 100% inherited, and it does this through natural selection. Blood type O is the most common blood type in the world. In some parts of South America, it is nearly in 100% all of the people that live there. It is also common in the US, and parts of Western Europe. Type O people are considered “Universal Donors”. Blood type A is common in Central and Eastern Europe. As well as countries such as Austria, Denmark, Norway, and Switzerland have 45-50% of their population with this blood type. Poles and Ukrainians have about 40% type A. Blood type B is common in Chinese and Indians, which is common in about 25% of the population. It is one of the rarest blood types, along with type A. Blood type AB is widely known as “Universal Receivers”, which means that they can receive blood from any blood type without having to worry about the risk of mixing wrong types. As the rarest of the blood groups, it is most common in Japan, and Korea, but only 10% of the total population has it.

Antibodies are large Y-shaped proteins that is used by the immune system to identify and destroy intruder bacteria and viruses. An antibody is composed of many antigens, which are usually located at the “tips” of the “Y”. Antibodies are secreted by a white blood cell called a plasma cell. When you say you are type A, you are telling people that your cells make antibodies for type B antigens. This means that your body makes antibodies against type B antigens. Therefore, your body kills off the cells containing type B antigens, which allows type A to be dominant. You can receive type A or type O blood, and you can donate to type A or type AB blood. If you are type B blood, the situation is the exact opposite. Your cells have type B antigens attached, so your body makes antibodies only against type A antigens. Then your body kills off the type A antigens, allowing the type B antigens to be dominant. You can receive type B and type O blood, but can only donate to type B and type AB blood. If you are type AB blood, your cells don’t make antibodies against type A or B surface antigens. You are also a universal receiver. If you are an O type, this again is the exact opposite, except, you are a universal donor.

References:

Human Blood: ABO Blood Types. (n.d.). Human Blood: ABO Blood Types. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://anthro.palomar.edu/blood/ABO_system.htm.

(n.d.). . Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2264/

Antibody. (2014, April 25). Wikipedia. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibody

What Are Blood Group Antigens All About?. (n.d.). - For Dummies. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-are-blood-group-antigens-all-about.html

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