Blood Groups - do you know yours/your family's?

[Jodee]

I was trying to find a record of ds's blood group recently and couldn't find it - it isn't noted in the red book. I know mine, I'm O Rh Neg, this is because I have given blood.

Would my GP have ds's blood group on record, I presume they must have found this out at birth?

And DH doesn't know his - he is reluctant to give blood, despite my twisting his arm, could he ask for a blood test from his gp just to find out this info?

i just feel it is knowledge that we as a family should know.

[Seona1973]

I'm B negative
DH is A postitive
DD must be something positive as I had anti-D after her birth

It is the first baby that causes sensitivity to the positive blood. This can then cause problems in subsequent pregnancies which is why anti-D would be given i.e. the first pregnancy is usually ok but the ones that come next can have problems if not managed properly.

[CarolinaMoose]

Janh, isn't it possible for the reaction to be caused with the first rh +ve baby if there's been a bleed during pg?

This is what I was told when they gave me anti-D when I was pg with ds.

[KeepingMum]

I agree NQC, I think thats why they stopped telling people, there was no clinical need to know what the child's blood group was routinely, but it was causing unnecessary anxiety when people thought 'how can this be my child then?', because presumably the genetics is more complicated than if mum is this and dad is this child can only be this.

[moyasmum]

Blood transfusion service seems the cheapest ,most unstressful ,most civic minded way to find out the info dh and me both b+.
Carolinamoose - my mum always gave blood and in such a way that It was a right of passage for me when i got to be 18 . Only grown ups can give blood . Pity they cant take it any more.

[NotQuiteCockney]

To be fair, it is possible (I think) for the blood group thing to indicate a paternity problem when there isn't one, thanks to chimerism. I think it's pretty rare, but still ...

[Marne]

me b-
dd1 b-
dd2 b-

my dad b-
my mum a+

dh?

my nan (mums side) b-
my nan (dads side b-

[CarolinaMoose]

me - A-

ds - O- (will have to strongarm him into giving blood when he's older - anyone know when you can start? )

dp - dunno. Am trying to get him to find out so I can hopefully avoid Anti-D injections next time.

[KeepingMum]

I thought that they stopped routinely testing the childrens blood group because it caused too much anxiety when the paternity was then questioned. I know mine and dh's because we have donated blood, but have no idea what ds and dd are.

[LilacBump]

DP A+
DD A+
mum A+
dad A+
me A-

[PinkKerPlink]

how weird I share the same blood group as some of my favourite mumsnetters:o

[Blandmum]

Yes, if you mum is AO and your Father BO you have a 1 in 4 chance of being OO, 1 in 4 chance of being AB, 1 in 4 of being AO and 1 in 4 of being B0

/ B / O
------
A / AB / AO
------
0 / BO / OO

That was so hard to do!

[NotQuiteCockney]

Um, blunderwoman, your dad could be A or B, and you could still be O, without any milkman shenanigans.

[Blandmum]

true abot the rh -ve....blame it on the wine

Janh If you are group A or B You can either be AA, in which case you will always pass on an A gene. Or you can be AO, in which you can pass on either an A or an O gene. The same is true for people with group B, you can either be BB or BO (!)

People with group AB are AB and have a 50:50 chance of passing on either.

Group O people are always OO and can only pass on O genes to their kids.

[mears]

martianbishop - your kids could be O neg you know

I am O neg

DH is O pos

All my kids are O pos. DH was tested because I did develop antibodies and he can only have Positive children because he is homozygous!!

[Blunderwoman]

Jodee - I used to work in a pathology lab and GPs don't routinely test blood groups unless there's a reason, i.e. pre surgery or pregnancy. When I left the lab in 2001 a private blood grouping cost £36 and a paternity blood test cost £96 with our consultants but that's probably gone up in the last 5 years. The best way for him to find out his blood group for free is to donate blood.

In an emergency the bloodbank will supply what's called 'universal donor blood' or O Rhesus negative. It will not contain any antibodies, is suitable for transfusion with all blood groups and as it has not been specifically crossmatched it will only be given in a life-threatening emergency. Crossmatches can be turned around from scratch in about an hour and a half so if the transfusion can wait that long doctors would rather have specifically matched blood.

Just for the record, my mother and sister are A +ve, I'm O +ve and I don't know my father's group, but if he's an A, B or AB then I know I'm the milkman's and mother's got some explaining to do!! (I will happily explain if you want me to, but it will be a long one!)

[misdee]

nope dd2+3 didnt need transfusions. i have antibody checks throughout pregnancies and routine anti-d as well. if i start to produce antibodies then it will cause problems for babies. but all fine so far.

[tamum]

Jodee, my guess is GPs wouldn't do blood grouping for no reason in case of non-paternity, but I could be wrong.

[Jodee]

Thanks SueW and GarfieldsGirl - will try gp and failing that, hospital records.

[JanH]

Coo - thanks, LeahE, that is v interesting. DD1 has given blood and she is A+ but I don't know about the others yet.

[LeahE]

JanH It's possible your kids could be either A or O too (depending on you and your DH you could both be A+ but with recessive O genes and those could be passed on to your children), but they can't be B or AB. I think it's possible they could be -ve, too, depending on your DH's family history, as you'll have -ve genes from your mother that could have been passed on and if they get -ves from your DH too they could be -ve. The most likely blood group for them is A+ but it's not the only option.

[pooka]

I'm A neg. DH is A pos and both ds and dd are A pos.

[Yorkiegirl]

I am O neg
DH is A pos
DD1 is A pos
DD2 is O neg

[JanH]

Did DD2 & DD3 need transfusions then, misdee? Or have I misunderstood too?

[misdee]

i'm O-, dh is O+, all the kids are O+

[JanH]

(My dad was Rh+ btw)