You inherit your blood type the same way you inherit your eye color-from your biological parents. In the U.S., the blood type AB, Rh negative is considered the rarest, while O positive is most common. There are less than 50 people who have this blood type. This blood type is distinct from Rh negative since it has none of the Rh antigens at all. One of the world’s rarest blood types is one named Rh-null. Some are so rare that only a small number of people have them. It is outside the scope of this article to list all known blood types. Outside of the ABO system, there are hundreds of antigens (proteins) that may be attached to red blood cells. However, a blood type can be rare in one location or ethnic group but more frequent in a different group of people. Another definition is that your blood type is rare if you don’t have an antigen that most people have or do have an antigen that most people don’t have. What are the rare blood types?Ī general definition of a rare blood type is one that happens at a rate of 1 per 1,000 people or less.

So, to prevent this damaging reaction, a woman who is Rh-negative will be given a medication called Rh immunoglobulin (RhIg) to block the antibodies from attacking the red blood cells of the fetus. (Antibodies are made by the immune system to fight off threats to the body.) If the mother’s body reacts to a positive Rh factor in the fetus’ blood, her body will create antibodies that can begin to attack the blood of the fetus. If you are pregnant, your first visit to your obstetrician will involve a blood test to find out your blood type and possibly to screen for antibodies. There can be problems if you are Rh negative and your fetus is Rh positive. The Rh factor (you are Rh positive or Rh negative) is inherited-the fetus can get its Rh factor from either the father or the mother. When you consider the major A and B antigens and Rh factors together, there are eight common blood types. Being Rh negative is less common than being Rh positive. If you don’t have it, you’re said to be Rh negative. If you have the Rh factor’s D antigen as most people do, you are said to be Rh positive. In addition to this, blood types can be either negative or positive, depending on the absence or presence of the Rh factor’s D antigen, another protein.

Type O: These people have neither A nor B antigens.

Type AB: These people have both A and B antigens.Type B: These people have the B antigen.Type A: These people have the A antigen.There is a system called the ABO system for defining blood types. An antigen is a substance that can make the body’s immune system react. While all blood does the same thing, all blood is not the same.īlood is divided into types, and the types are defined by whether or not certain antigens, usually proteins, are present. Everyone has blood, which is made up of plasma, platelets, white blood cell and red blood cells. Blood is something all people have in common.

Type o negative blood type