If a doctor accidentally injected me with type B, my antibodies would reject and work to break down the foreign blood. That’s why giving someone blood from the wrong group can be life-threatening.įor example, I have type A+ blood. Antibodies recognize any foreign antigens and tell your immune system to destroy them. Here’s why: Your ABO blood group is identified by antibodies, part of the body’s natural defense system, and antigens, a combination of sugars and proteins that coat the surface of red blood cells. What he didn’t know is that humans should only get blood from certain other humans. Credit: ER Productions Limited /Getty Images Most humans fall into one of four blood groups - A, B, AB or O. James Blundell, who worked in London in the early 1800s, gave blood transfusions to 10 of his patients - only half survived. Prior to the discovery of blood groups, a transfusion, a now common lifesaving procedure, was a high-stakes process fraught with risk. Like other genetic traits, your blood type is inherited from your parents. Karl Landsteiner, who later won a Nobel Prize for his work. Why do they matter?īlood types were discovered in 1901 by the Austrian immunologist and pathologist Dr. “I think it’s fascinating, the evolutionary history, even though I don’t think we have the answer of why we have different blood types,” said Laure Segurel, a human evolutionary geneticist and a researcher at the National Museum of Natural History in France. Unlocking what role blood types play would potentially help scientists better understand the risk of disease for people in different blood groups.

These study results follow evidence from past research that certain blood groups are more vulnerable to other diseases like cancer.īut why we have blood types and what purpose they serve is still largely unknown, and very little is known about their links to viruses and disease. However, people with Type A may have a higher risk of catching Covid-19 and of developing severe symptoms, recent research has suggested, while people with Type O blood have a lower risk. For more Health & Wellbeing related news and videos check out Health & Wellbeing >

B negative blood type and covid risk