All about blood – my blood

One interesting spin-off from my hospitalisation was (as I’ve already reported) that I found out what Blood Group I am. I’m AB- which means that I could only have got this blood group if my mother and father had been A, B, or AB. No O in my immediate family. I could have been an A, or a B, but no I ended up being AB- which accounts for a very small percentage of the world population (1%). It is also one of the newer blood types. There – I knew I was special. 🙂

Of course there’s more to it than that and I found the Wikipedia article on Blood Type fascinating to read. This led me to search out some of the more “fringe” connections to Blood Type, such as what diet I should follow and I read …

“People with this rare blood type should eat a combination of the foods recommended for blood groups A and B. Somewhat confusing when type B allows you to eat most foods, while type A suggests a vegetarian diet! Dr D’Adamo gets around this by suggesting that type ABs follow a veggie diet most of the time with some meat, fish and dairy products occasionally. It’s the same when it comes to exercise too – blood type ABs should combine calming exercises with moderately intense activities.”

… suffice to say the same article states …

“Medical experts universally agree that the theory is nonsense, and say there is absolutely no link between our blood group and the diet we eat. Consequently you won’t find qualified nutritionists or dietitians recommending this diet.”

So nothing to learn from that, although you might be interested in the wikipedia article on the same subject; but what about personality. The Japanese apparently all know their blood type and make a great thing of the link of Blood Group to Personality. What might my blood type reveal about me. [You can click on the graphic below to see a larger image.]

I’m not going to comment too much – I’ll leave others to comment, but I think I’m reasonably fairly treated by that one! 🙂 But what about this rarity thing – am I THAT special, should I be rushing down to the Blood Transfusion Service and offering to donate my blood (shades of the old Tony Hancock epic). I find out from their website that …

“Blood group AB individuals have both A and B antigens on the surface of their RBCs, and their blood serum does not contain any antibodies against either A or B antigen. Therefore, an individual with type AB blood can receive blood from any group (with AB being preferable), but can donate blood only to another type AB individual.”

So I’m not that much of a resource for donation after all, although they do say …

“AB negative blood

You’re brilliant…we need you to stay that way

Group AB negative blood is needed for the manufacture of plasma – a rich ‘soup’ of essential proteins – plasma is separated from red blood cells and frozen when fresh. Less than 1% of the population possess AB negative blood.”

So, since they have a shortage of AB- blood and there may be occasions where there’s another AB type needing blood – I should make the effort … shouldn’t I?