5 Methods To Discover Out Your Blood Kind—and Why You Ought to Know

Understanding your blood kind is vital for issues like blood transfusions, surgical procedures, being pregnant, and emergencies.

You’ve a number of choices for locating out whether or not your blood kind is A, B, AB, or O, and whether or not it is postive or unfavorable for rhesus issue (Rh issue), a kind of protein on the cells’ floor that may have an effect on your blood’s compatibility with another person’s.

Your blood kind might already be famous in your medical data in case you have undergone blood checks, had surgical procedures, or performed prenatal testing. You possibly can ask your physician if they’ve that info accessible, or examine your earlier lab take a look at outcomes. Hospitals additionally retailer your medical data, which you’ll be able to entry to know your blood kind.

A health care provider can order a blood take a look at to have your blood typed. Blood typing is a process during which a healthcare supplier attracts a blood pattern to ship to a lab, the place a lab technician can carry out sure testing that reveals your blood kind.

Blood donation facilities kind your blood as a part of the processing. They do that in order that when your blood is required, medical doctors can guarantee your blood kind is appropriate with the recipient’s. After you donate blood, it’s possible you’ll obtain a donor card that lists your blood kind.

You should buy an at-home blood typing take a look at package to find out your blood kind at house in a matter of minutes with a finger prick. These kits can be found on-line, at pharmacies, or in some supermarkets. It is vital to make use of solely FDA-approved or FDA-authorized checks.

About 80% of individuals secrete the antigens that checks use to find out blood kind into their saliva. These individuals could possibly be taught their blood kind via a saliva take a look at, which can be a very good choice in case you have a concern of needles or blood.

Saliva checks might not precisely decide whether or not your blood kind is optimistic or unfavorable, nonetheless.

Your blood kind relies on whether or not sure antigens are current on the floor of your pink blood cells. Antigens are substances that may set off an immune response if they’re overseas to your physique. The ABO system categorizes blood sorts as A, B, AB, and O primarily based on the presence or absence of the A and B antigens:

Kind A: Has A antigensType B: Has B antigensType AB: Has each A and B antigensType O: Has neither A nor B antigens

Every of the 4 most important blood sorts could also be optimistic (+) or unfavorable (-) for Rh issue, making eight blood sorts.

Your blood kind can have an effect on whether or not you are in a position to give or obtain blood from individuals with completely different blood sorts. Most blood sorts are solely appropriate with the identical blood kind or an O-type blood.

O unfavorable is named the common donor as a result of it comprises no antigen, so it would not set off an immune response even when the recipient has a unique blood kind. Simply 7% of the inhabitants in the US has this blood kind, which is useful in emergencies the place the recipient’s blood kind is unknown.

AB optimistic is named the common recipient, because it comprises all of the antigens and may obtain blood from all blood sorts with out complication. Lower than 4% of the U.S. inhabitants has AB optimistic blood.

Rh issue can be an vital consideration throughout being pregnant. If in case you have Rh unfavorable blood however your creating fetus has Rh optimistic blood, your physique might reply in unfavorable methods. Therapies may also help resolve and forestall issues.