Health Matters (06); Blood Groups

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INTRODUCTION

Blood group otherwise known as blood types, are classified and identified in various categories. It is dependent if antibodies are present or absent as well as antigens that could be inherited which are found on the surface of the red blood cells. Each and everyone belongs to a particular category that gives a description of the blood class or group they belong to. It is important for one to know the class he/she belongs to in order to avoid regrettable or consequential mistakes. Hence, I come forward make my contribution to this important topic of discourse as hosted by @sahmie.

The main blood types and how to know the one we have

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The picture above depicts the main types of blood we have. There are other types but the four above, are the major ones. 'AA,' the 'AB', the 'B', and the 'O' forms the four major type of blood.

How to know our blood type or group

It is very necessary to know your blood type so as to also know the kind of treatment and blood requirement you may need. As I said earlier, the presence or absence of antigens are the determining factors that are looked out for, while conducting blood test to know your blood type. So now, to know your blood type, you need to visit a doctor or nurse to run a blood test. They will draw blood from your body to check the presence or absence of the antigens and that of the rhesus factor. If some of the blood group antigens manifests in the sample, the test result will show a clustering blood. If the blood does not cluster, it means that the blood type is 'O' negative.

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Knowing our blood type is important for the following reasons:

• Helping to solve health challenges*

• To know the right blood for transfusion when an emergency arises

• For a healthy marital match-making

• Knowing the type of blood donor we could be making

The Importance of knowing our blood type

When it comes health issues, our blood type plays an important role and in extension, matters so much in medical treatment. The table below shows how blood types affects our and how it matters in medical treatment.

How blood types affect our health and why they matter in medical treatments

Blood group or type	Health/Medical effects

Blood group 'A'	Can not receive 'AB' or 'B' red blood cells.

Blood group 'B'	Can not receive 'A' or 'AB' red blood cells.

Blood group 'AB'	Can receive or donate 'A,' 'B,' 'AB' or 'O' red blood cells.

Blood group 'O'+	Can donate to 'A+', 'AB'+, and 'O'+ but can receive from O'+ and O-.

Blood group 'O-'	Can donate to all can only receive from 'O-'.

Why some people are considered to be universal blood donors while others can receive blood from only a few

The 'O" blood group are identified as the general donors. This is because their red blood cells doesn't contains the A or B antigens and could therefore be a safe blood to be given to people of any other blood group.

Finally I invite the following persons to participate:
@kesybliss
@steemqueeen
@john247