Most people know that there are four basic blood types: A, B, AB, and O – but not everyone knows what that means. Before getting into how each blood type impacts your health, here’s an explanation.
All blood contains the same basic components – plasma, red and white blood cells, and platelets. However, some blood contains antigens, or proteins and sugars that the body uses to identify the blood as belonging to the body. There are two different kinds of antigens, A and B. People with type A blood have only A antigens, while people with type B blood have only B antigens. People with AB blood have both kinds, and people with type O blood have neither.
There’s also the Rh factor, which is a protein that may or may not appear in red blood cells. A person with type A blood and Rh factor will have A+ blood, while a person with the same blood type and no Rh factor will have A- blood. The same applies to all blood types, which means that there are eight types in total.
Blood type is important because it determines what kind of blood a person can receive during a transfusion. You can’t receive blood with antigens that don’t match yours, or your immune system might attack those antigens. Therefore, people with O blood can only receive O blood but can donate to anyone. People with B blood can receive B and O but not A or AB. People with A blood can receive A and O blood but not B or AB. People with AB blood can receive any type of blood. The Rh factor must also match.
