Do you know your blood type?

[lillygator]

I am A+, one DD is A+, one is O+ and don't know about DH.

 

[novajeanjellybean]

I'm AB+ and DBF is AB-. Pretty cool if we ever need blood were good to go.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

A+.. but I didn't learn that til I was pregnant with my 3rd.
Either that, or I forgot


I remember now tho...cuz I'm A+, the best there is

 

[AKL_Megs]

I want to say I am either A- or B-... I know I am not O and I know I am a negative.

I guess I should find out.

 

[Just Jan]

AB+
And another thanks to donators.
I desperately needed blood during a hosp stay 2 years ago (my hematocrit was 17). Because my immune system was fighting the blood I had already received I needed to get a specific match. It took the hosp blood bank and the Red Cross 30 hours until they found a match that was very close, so that was used they couldn't wait any longer.

OOO I love the Red Cross now!

 

[georgina]

BUT...after decades of giving blood, it looks like I may have to stop. It seems the Red Cross has massacred my veins. Twice I've been to the hosptal to have tests done, and when they have tried to take blood, found it very hard to get a 'good' vein. That was never the case with me.

I have a similar situation - after many gallons of blood given (I only have one decent vein that they always use) I had to stop donating because it is so scarred up that I have a hard time with blood draws and IV's, etc. I spent a couple of weeks in the hospital and they had a heck of a time with my IV's, especially when on vancomycin as it hurt so much they had to keep moving the IV every couple of days until I got the picc line. I feel very bad telling them that I can't give any more when they call.

 

[browneyes106]

I'm O+

 

[Piecey]

AB- sadly.. I hope I don't ever need blood or I'm a goner! lol

It's the rarest! Something like less than a %...

If you're a guy or post menopausal, you can get any blood. The Rh factor is just an issue when you're having kids, so if a man is in an accident and needs blood, they can safely give him O+ regardless of his blood type, since a man will never be delivering a baby.

That isn't true.

I tried to find a better chart, but at least this one is from a division of the Red Cross:


Sorry it pasted poorly, but here is the link:
http://chapters.redcross.org/br/northernohio/INFO/bloodtype.html



My DH is A+ and so is my son. I have O- .....

My grandfather and I were the only two members in my family with O-. He had several heart surgeries and we always used to joke that I needed to be on standby if he needed another surgery so that I could give him my blood.


Unfortunately, I am unable to donate.


Those complaining about Rhogam--- where did you get your shot?? I was the only one on the Moms-to-be-Thread that got Rhogam in my arm (both doses)


*eta* I realize I very well could be mistaken, but what I posted was what I was taught in AP Biology and have always believed. Only O- can be given to absolutely everyone, male or female.
Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[monkey68]

*eta* I realize I very well could be mistaken, but what I posted was what I was taught in AP Biology and have always believed. Only O- can be given to absolutely everyone, male or female.
Correct me if I am wrong.

The general belief is that negative people can only get negative blood, it just makes the most sense. But, from what I learned in the past 2 years of med school, if it is a male, or someone who is post-menopausal, you can give them positive blood. The concern comes from when a negative mother gives birth to a positive child. The first time, it's ok because there are no antibodies to the Rh factor, but with subsequent pregnancies, the antibodies that formed against the (+) Rh factor can cross the placenta leading to hemolytic disease of the newborn.

Now, if you give a (-) woman (+) blood, they'll develop antibodies to it, and then if they get pregnant, these antibodies will go and attack the fetus. Bear in mind that it takes time to develop antibodies, which is why the first time, there's usually no problems. The antibodies for A and B are naturally occuring, because they relate to certain gut flora, but the same is not true for Rh factor. So the first time you give an Rh neg. person Rh pos. blood, nothing will happen. The second time, you can get some agglutination, and if it reaches a certain point, it can be dangerous.

So if it's a life threatening situation, or a mass trauma, and there's not enough blood, you kind of play the odds. Give the men and elderly O+, since most people haven't had transfusions before, and save the O- for woman who are still child bearing age, or female children. There's no risk of a man becoming pregnant, so you don't worry about hemolytic disease of newborn. Once you have the type and cross available, you should give that type, but if you don't have it available, and you need to give blood, and your blood bank is running low (which is not uncommon in our hospital), you can give positive.

Here's a short link which sort of explains it, my textbook went into tons more detail, but I am not going to scan that in. http://www.aolhealth.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-rh-factor-and-blood-transfusion

 

[mickeyboat]

O- I have donated to babies before!

 

[live4christp1]

Another O+ here.

This reminded me that I need to go by the blood bank & donate. They sent out emails last week that they are very low.

 

[shushh]

We are a family of universal donors!

DH, myself and all 3 children are all 0-

 

[blana]

Yep. I'm B-, Hubby is O+, DS is O-, and DD is O+.

 

[Piecey]

The general belief is that negative people can only get negative blood, it just makes the most sense. But, from what I learned in the past 2 years of med school, if it is a male, or someone who is post-menopausal, you can give them positive blood. The concern comes from when a negative mother gives birth to a positive child. The first time, it's ok because there are no antibodies to the Rh factor, but with subsequent pregnancies, the antibodies that formed against the (+) Rh factor can cross the placenta leading to hemolytic disease of the newborn.

Now, if you give a (-) woman (+) blood, they'll develop antibodies to it, and then if they get pregnant, these antibodies will go and attack the fetus. Bear in mind that it takes time to develop antibodies, which is why the first time, there's usually no problems. The antibodies for A and B are naturally occuring, because they relate to certain gut flora, but the same is not true for Rh factor. So the first time you give an Rh neg. person Rh pos. blood, nothing will happen. The second time, you can get some agglutination, and if it reaches a certain point, it can be dangerous.

So if it's a life threatening situation, or a mass trauma, and there's not enough blood, you kind of play the odds. Give the men and elderly O+, since most people haven't had transfusions before, and save the O- for woman who are still child bearing age, or female children. There's no risk of a man becoming pregnant, so you don't worry about hemolytic disease of newborn. Once you have the type and cross available, you should give that type, but if you don't have it available, and you need to give blood, and your blood bank is running low (which is not uncommon in our hospital), you can give positive.

Here's a short link which sort of explains it, my textbook went into tons more detail, but I am not going to scan that in. http://www.aolhealth.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-rh-factor-and-blood-transfusion

I loved this stuff when I was in school, so I found that pretty interesting. I wonder when that came around? Or if what I was taught is still the general "rule" but you Dr. people are being taught some more detailed stuff.

 

[Golf4food]

A+. Over 2 gallons donated so far. Other people get to live, I get a free coke and oreos - it's a win-win for everyone!

 

[monkey68]

I loved this stuff when I was in school, so I found that pretty interesting. I wonder when that came around? Or if what I was taught is still the general "rule" but you Dr. people are being taught some more detailed stuff.

I have no idea if this is a new finding, or just a more detailed viewpoint. I do know that last year, we were in a mock trauma (using a really expensive robot as a patient), and we needed to order blood since the "patient" was bleeding heavily, I think he was supposed to have had a gunshot wound that hit the femoral artery. Anyway, when we "called" the blood bank (really, it was the director pretending to be the blood bank), we asked for O- cause we didn't have the type back yet. She told us they didn't have any O-, do we want O+ instead. Afterwards, in the debriefing, she said she was impressed we didn't get tripped up by using the O+ blood, which was the right thing to do since it was a male patient, and he needed blood.

Back when I took AP Bio, I learned that negative can only get negative blood. And judging by the reactions of most of my classmates, it was new info to everyone else as well. Again, you're basically assuming that the person has never had a blood transfusion with positive blood, which for most people, is a safe assumption, so if it's an emergency, you can do it.

 

[CrystalS]

I'm an O- and my husband is a positive (but don't ask me what letter, lol).
We have a 2.5yr old son who is O+.

After having my son, about a year later or so I had blood work to check if I developed the antibodies, but they didn't find any, so looks like I should be ok to have another child without worrying about having the antibodies, but I'll be sure to check again when/if we have another

 

[Aristomommy]

I am B-, DH is A+. DD is also A+, but DS is A-.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Yes B-, so are all 3 of my kids. Dh is positive so we were all checked.