To not know my blood type?

[myexisanasshole]

So a thread yesterday reminded me that I should update my iPhone with my emergency contacts and the meds I'm on (quite a lot) and it asked my blood type?! I have no idea, asked my mum and she doesn't know either (thanks mum!) am I the only one? If I'm honest o do t know what my children are either 🙄 please tell me I'm not alone!

I read somewhere that you tend to inherit the thesis factor from your father but that could be nonsense or outdated

So rhesus neg is the dominant one?

No, dominant is a different thing. Rh- means there is no rhesus factor.

OK this is my blood groups demo.

Take three jam jars, one has red food colour, the other has blue food colour and the third has just water in it.

The water is O, the red is A and the blue is B. Someone can have blood group O, A or B. SOmeone with AB has red and blue.

You also have marbles. The marbles are the rhesus factor.

Each student is given a 2 jars and some are given marbles.

Now I'm splitting the group into pairs with an empty jam jar. The empty jar is the baby of the pair and you are going to pass on a blood type.

They can each pour in to the jar from one of the two jars they have and the other person in the pair can do the same.

So if you have a jar of water and a jar of food colour you can pour in the water or the colour. Obviously if you have two jars of the same colour that's all you can pour, if you just have water that's all you can pour, but if you have water and a colour you can pour either.

If you have a marble you must put it in the empty jar.

Now when you look at the 'baby' you can see its blood type. But if the 'baby' is a mix of food colour and water you can only see the colour.

So a 'baby' that is red is blood group A, but if it is made up of red (A) from both parents it can only pass red (A) on.

But if the baby is red (A) from one parent and the other parent is water (O) the baby can pass on red or water.

If the 'baby' has a marble it is RH+

If you receive blood a sample of your blood is taken and mixed with the blood to check for a reaction. There are lots more 'marbles' and your blood can react to any of them so this mixing (cross match) means you do not receive incompatible blood.

Fun game

educationalgames.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/bloodtypinggame/gamev2/index.html

I think I lost my marbles

sashh

A really neat and innovative explanation! To address some earlier questions:

1. If you are Rh- and become pregnant, you should have Rh immune globulin (RhoGAM, WinRho) at 28 weeks gestation and after a miscarriage, termination of pregnancy, or any invasive procedure (e.g. amniocentesis). This is because procedures and the end of the pregnancy can cause your blood and the baby's blood to mix. If the baby is Rh+ you could develop antibodies that could attack a baby in a subsequent pregnancy. If you're Rh- and have a live birth (I'm guessing they do this with a stillbirth too but have never seen one so not sure), they will take a cord blood sample at the birth and send it to the lab. Usually they do this automatically because odds are your provider won't remember every patient's blood type. The lab will send back one of two reports. If you're Rh+ they just hold the sample for a week and then discard it. If you're Rh- they will blood type the baby. If the baby is Rh- there is no issue. If the baby is Rh+ you'll be offered the Rh immune globulin again within 72 hours of the baby's birth. They'll also do additional testing on the sample to see if there are Rh antibodies. If these are present, we get excited earlier about jaundice. (Rh antibodies attack the baby's blood cells, causing them to break down. This creates bile salts, which can build up in the skin, causing jaundice.) Interestingly, if the mother has type O blood and the baby has another blood type, this can create problems too, so if the mother is O they may do additional testing as well.

1. Interesting fact told to me by a lab tech: you can never rely on historical information to determine blood type. (Only exception is in pregnancy - usually the mother is blood typed early in the pregnancy; it only needs to be done again at the birth if she needs a blood transfusion.) The rationale is that for all the lab knows, the person could have had a bone marrow transplant, or could have developed antibodies, most commonly from pregnancy or from previous blood transfusions. If you need a blood transfusion, they'll actually blood type you again and they'll do a cross match. They'll mix a small amount of your blood with a small sample from each unit of red blood cells they want to transfuse, to see if they react. If there's no reaction, those units of blood will literally be set aside for you with your name on them. If they aren't used within 72 hours, assuming they haven't expired, they can be untagged and used for someone else.

1. When it comes to blood transfusions, you're quite correct that it takes a number of people. Ordinarily two people have to match your ID to the tags on the blood bag. You'll have a special band applied when your cross match is done and this number will also be on the blood bags. (Absolutely DO NOT remove the cross match band until you're told to do so. If you take it off they literally have to redo the entire cross match.) You need to have vital signs taken before they start the blood and periodically during the transfusion, and they have to watch you very carefully for the first 15 minutes, as this is when most reactions occur. Should also mention that you need a fairly good-size IV catheter to give blood, at least a 20 gauge and preferably an 18. Anything smaller will break down the red blood cells. (Although people talk about blood transfusions, in most cases what you get is actually packed red blood cells. In many cases, what you donate is whole blood, but it gets separated into its component parts. We can transfuse whole blood, but it's rare. Usually we give packed red cells, but we can also give platelets, albumin (protein), and various antibodies. The Rh immune globulin is an example - it's actually a blood product.)

I'm a nurse and have given many, many units of blood. I've also given albumin, Rh immune globulin, and platelets, and I've seen tetanus immune globulin and hepatitis B immune globulin given (I was a student at the time and wasn't allowed to give blood products).

Everyone in Switzerland has a card with theirs on. My GP there was surprised that we don't do the same. I keep mine in my purse now.

I keep mine in my purse now.

Waste of time really as no hcp will take any notice. They still need to group and cross-match you if you need a transfusion. It would be potentially unsafe to rely on the card in your purse.

The only way I know my blood type and that of all my children is because I am negative so needed anti-d injections during pregnancy and then after birth with 2 out of 3 of them.

Most people don't know theirs. And even if you did tell the dr they would still test to find out or check your medical notes in case of a mistake.

I only know mine from pregnancy bloods. Both my parents have rarer blood types so I assumed I would have inherited a weird combo too but I'm B+ which isn't overly exciting. We were chatting to midwife about DP's blood group and she said you can pay to have it tested but as others have said there's no real need to do so.

I'm O-, ( I know because I'm a blood donor) Only around 13% are O- and it's in demand as its universal donor blood, so anyone can have it! It's nice to be popular!

Anyone have any other weird blood things? We recently found out we have a bleeding disorder - half the kids, me, my mums side - explains a lot of the bruising I've had over the years.

In common with other people, I only know mine because I give blood (in fact finding out what blood group I was, was my original incentive to go).

Not sure I found out (again) when I was pregnant but perhaps it is on my records somewhere.

I only found out mine when I joined the Armed Forces in my 20's. Nice and common A+. Useful as I already knew when later I became pregnant that I would not be needing any injections in my bum.

I only know due to my maternity notes, and DH only knows as he donates blood. I have no idea what DD has.
I’m a bog standard O+, and he’s a rarer AB+, if you donate blood you get a little keyring.

I’m 37 and don’t know mine. I asked my GP while there for something else, he looked at the computer and said it had never been tested for. I’ve never been pregnant and am ineligible to donate blood. I’d like to find out, just out of curiosity, but not enough to spend money on a kit when I could spend it on something more fun! 🤷🏻‍♀️

Not a clue. Can't donate as neutropenic

VeryNice’s dad could be A, B or O, positive or negative. No way to know for sure, but O is most likely because it’s most common and because the fact that we know he’s had an O child skews the odds. I don’t think he could be AB but I may be wrong about that.

I’m O+ from my blood donor records. Boring, but useful as a donor as most people can receive it and no need for jabs in pregnancy.

I only know mine now thanks to donating blood and them sending me a strap key ring with my type on. My parents could never remember. I was told it twice when pregnant and forgot. I think my dc have the same blood type as me but I'm not 100% sure. My MIL regularly donated blood and still isn't sure of hers. I'm pretty sure it's not that uncommon.

I’m A negative and had the injection during pregnancy. They don’t know what my husband is but tested my girl after birth. All I know is she is negative as I didn’t need another injection but don’t know the group

Those who do donate blood, do you get an awful lot of letters and requests made if you’re a rarer blood type?
I get one every 6 months or so but DH has had one every couple of weeks.

Didn't you find out when you donated blood?

Award for top passive-aggressive dig goes to....

Dropitlikeitshot

Your daughter will be either A+ or B+

Back in the day before HIV if you did O Level biology you tested your own blood to find the blood group.

Now children are not encouraged to stab their fingers with pins in class.

Sashh

Oh really? How interesting! Thanks for that.

I can absolutely see why they aren’t encouraged to do it anymore, however that does sound very engaging for children.

Back in the day before HIV if you did O Level biology you tested your own blood to find the blood group.

Maybe some schools did but mine didn't (mid 70s). We did basic genetics, so I knew from my parents blood groups I must be AO or BO though.

@sashh Would it be OK if I was to PM you as I am confused about a couple of things and there is a bit of background which I don't really want to put up on a forum. If it's not: that's no problem if it is OK just inbox a hello and I can explain my questions. Thank you