O Positive Vs O Negative Blood
Where The Positive and Negative Comes In - So, as a Type O, if you want to be a blood donor you will always be in demand, as lots of people can use your blood if their own type isn't readily available. But as a recipient, you are limited to O positive blood and O negative blood. Where does the positive and negative come in? There is a group of antigens call the Rh D antigens. Not everyone has these. If you do have Rh D antigens in your blood cells your blood is classified as Rh D positive, if not, it is Rh D negative. If you are Type O then, and have the Rh D antigen, you have Type O positive blood in your veins. The Rh D factor is mostly of concern to mothers-to-be, who may have Rh D antigens while their unborn child does not, and this can lead to complications under some circumstances. For the rest of us, our concern as to whether we are positive or negative primarily revolves around the available supply of our particular type of blood.
The person with Type O negative blood is in somewhat of a tough spot as only about 6% of the population has that type, and it is the only blood type that person can safely accept. If you have Type O positive blood, your body will accept both O positive and O negative blood, but none of the other types. The good news is that around one-third of the world's population has Type O positive blood. In fact more people test O positive than for any other type, although A positive comes in a close second. So, should you be in need of a transfusion, the chances of there being some Type O positive blood (or O negative for that matter) available are really in your favor.
You Needn't Worry Too Much About Supply - Most hospitals successfully keep adequate supply of the different blood types in stock, and Type O positive as we have seen, is usually in good supply. If you really want to play it safe, move to Iceland, Ireland, or Saudi Arabia. In those countries, nearly half of the population has Type O positive blood. Under some circumstances, you may not need a transfusion of whole blood, but only of blood plasma, the liquid component of the blood. Here the news is even better. As a Type O positive blood person, you can use blood plasma of any of the other blood types. There are no A or B antigens in blood plasma, which Type O blood would normally create antibodies against. Things just got much less complicated.
A Simple Blood Test Will Tell You What Type You Are - If you're not aware of what your blood type is, it's not terribly difficult to find out. If you've ever had surgery, required a blood transfusion, or donated blood, your type should already be a mater of record, somewhere. Otherwise you can just submit to a blood test. You don't have to go through any special preparation for a blood test, which is to say you don't have to fast, avoid any special foods, or anything like that. Your blood is just being analyzed to determine the type, and not being analyzed for anything else. Those drawing your blood would want to know what medications you might be taking or if you have or have had cancer, leukemia, hepatitis, or a few other diseases which could produce a false result. Also, though blood loss is rare beyond that which is being extracted (a small test tube full usually), if you are a bleeder, they’d like to know that as well.
Having blood drawn is a painless experience. At worst you might feel a prick, but the professional blood drawers, called phlebotomists, take satisfaction in being able to insert the needle without your feeling it, a bit like a vampire would do. If you're afraid of the needle, and many people are, just look in the other direction. It's a small needle. You can expect to lose at most a drop or two of blood (you'll be wearing a gauze pad and a band aid for an hour or so) and in most cases you won't have any mark or bruise to show for your effort. Blood is typically drawn from a vein on the inside of your arm, just above the elbow.
You've had your blood drawn, and it has been determined that you are you have Type O positive blood. You have plenty of company, and in addition you are a valuable person as a potential donor. So celebrate by donating some of your valuable Type O positive blood.
