THE GOLDEN BLOOD.
Most of us already know our blood type, whether it is a, b, or o, and whether it's positive or negative but, did you know that there is a blood type so rare that only 43 people on earth have ever been reported to have it. This blood group is known as RH null and scientists are calling it the golden blood type because of its rareness.
Things would be straightforward if we
all had the same blood type
but we don't on the surface of everyone
of our blood cells, we have hundreds of
antigens, which are the molecules that
are capable of triggering the production
of specialized proteins called
antibodies
it is the presence or absence of
particular antigens that determine
someone's blood type
for example, you may have a b blood in
the
blood group system be RH positive in the
RH system as well as being k positive in
the cell system
and so on
of the 32 blood group systems, the RH
system is the largest
containing 61 antigens
interestingly, 99.9999994 percent of
people
in the world have blood with RH antigens
on their red blood cells
but as the name implies, the RH null
blood type
is completely missing these RH blood
group antigens
which makes it the rarest blood type in
the world
RH null blood was first found in 1961 in
an Australian woman
until then, doctors had assumed that an
embryo missing all
RH blood cell antigens would not survive
let alone grow into a normal thriving
adult
but by 2010 nearly five decades later
some 43 people with RH null blood had
been reported worldwide
you might think these 43 people are very
lucky
but that couldn't be further from the
truth
in reality, because RH null blood is so
rare
it is also extremely dangerous to live
with
blood groups are inherited and RH null
is known to run in families
but when researchers tried to find the
genetic basis of this golden blood type
in one of the subjects
they found that RH null blood was due to
two completely different random mutations on pure chance, which is one reason why this blood type is so rare your immune system naturally contains antibodies which help to fight off any foreign material that your immune system doesn't recognize such as viruses and bacteria these antibodies can also attack antigens, that aren't present in your natural blood type for example, if you have type b blood 'and' you receive a blood transfusion of type a blood your antibodies will work to destroy the antigens,
This can have life-threatening results.
This means if you have the RH null blood type receiving a transfusion of a blood type with any RH antigens will cause your body to reject the blood because fewer than 50 individuals in the entire world have the RH null blood type finding a blood donor for RH null individuals can be nearly impossible, this is why people who have the golden blood type is encouraged to donate blood in case they ever need blood as RH null blood contains no RH antigens to be rejected it can be a universal donor for those with generally rare blood types golden blood therefore can be both life-threatening and life-saving and while your chances of having the rarest blood types are incredibly low it's important that you know what your blood type is you never know when your life will need to be saved or When you could save someone else's.
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