But what about an unexpected medical emergency? That’s when O-negative donors save lives! Interested in finding out what blood type you are? If you’re scheduled for a surgical procedure, you can always donate your own blood in advance and be given that during the procedure. What does this mean for you if you have O-negative blood?īecome a blood donor! If you have O-negative blood, you can only receive O-negative blood, so you want to help ensure that there’s always a good supply on the shelves. But this also means that people with O-negative blood can only receive O-negative blood. This means that it’s missing those things that could cause a bad reaction during a blood transfusion and can be given to any blood type. Their ancestors adapted to their specific ecosystem over long periods of time in isolation, and modern Rh-negatives have inherited those adaptations. O-negative blood is missing both the A antigen and the B antigen and does not contain the protein for Rh-positive blood. This type has inherited a Basque gene for blood type Rh-negative from ancient ancestors in the Pyrenees Mountains of France and Spain. This gives us the common blood types of A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-, O+, and of course O. You are positive if you have the protein and negative if you don’t. Your Rh factor is determined by whether or not your blood contains a specific protein. Your blood group is determined by whether you have the A antigen, the B antigen, both A and B antigens or neither A or B antigen. That led to safer blood transfusions because doctors transfuse the right type of blood for people need to survive. The existence of the antigens that determine if your blood is O, A, B or AB was discovered about 100 years ago. Blood types are either positive or negative, depending on the absence or presence of the Rh factor’s D antigen, another marker. Type O: Red blood cells have neither A nor B antigens. Type AB: Red blood cells have both A and B antigens. If you have O-negative blood, the only blood type you can receive is O-negative. Type B: Red blood cells have the B antigen.

While those with O negative are universal blood donors, the blood they can receive when it comes to transfusions is far from universal. I’m O negative, what type of blood can I be transfused with?ĭo you have O-negative blood? If so, you may have discovered that your blood is needed by hospitals and emergency services to help save lives, but you may be wondering what type of blood you can be given if you need a transfusion.

Blood type diets for o negative