Types Of Blood
What are the different types of blood? Fuel is to cars as blood is to our bodies. Our body uses blood to allow nutrients to be brought to all the different parts of the entire body. The thing is that there are many different types of blood. These types of blood differ from one another either because of the presence or absence of proteins molecules. These protein molecules are called antibodies and antigens. Antibodies are the protein molecules that are on the surface area of red blood cells. Antibodies, on the other hand, can be found in the blood plasma. These two can be combined in different qualities and quantities, therefore, types of blood have been established. The main types of blood are A, B, AB, and O.
People who have the blood types that are on category A or Type A have blood where the ‘A’ antigens are where they are. As mentioned above, antigens should be on the surface of the red blood cells. On the other hand, there are ‘B’ antibodies found specifically in your blood plasma. The people with types of blood wherein there are ‘B’ antigens on the red blood cells surface and ‘A’ antibodies in blood plasma are the people who have the B blood types. The people who have the AB blood types are those who have types of blood that have both ‘A’ and ‘B’ antigens and no ‘A’ or ‘B’ antibodies. These are the people who are considered to be the universal recipients of blood transfers. This is because they will be able to receive transfusion or donation of blood from all the different types of blood. Lastly, we have the ‘O’ types of blood. These are the people who have blood that have no ‘A’ or ‘B’ antigens. However, they have both ‘A’ and ‘B’ antibodies. Among all the types of blood, the ‘O’ types are the ones who are called the universal donors. This is because the O negative blood types can be given to anyone that is in an emergency.
Another way to group the types of blood is through the RH blood group system. This is a grouping of blood types wherein there are 50 known blood antigens. The most important of these blood antigens are the D, E, c, and E. Here, the RH factor of the blood is taken into consideration. Rh stands for Rhesus. Aside from the basic blood types mentioned above, an Rh factor is used to more specifically know the blood compatibility of different people. This is mostly used for blood transfusion. The values of the Rh factor can be negative or positive. When you are said to have negative Rh factor, this means that you do not have the Rhesus factor on your red blood cells surface. When you have a positive Rh factor, this means that you have the Rhesus factor on your red blood cells’ surface. Aside from determining specific blood groups, the Rh factor blood group is also used to conclude risks of newborn hemolytic diseases.
