All about Blood Groups

Normally it is believed that the rare blood group is O negative, which is very difficult to get because it is found only in selected people. But rather than O negative there is a rarest blood group that is found in any one of the millions of people, and its name is Bombay Blood Group. This blood group is also called Rare of the Rarest Blood Group.

To donate blood to the needy and save their life is the work of virtue. Prior to donating blood, the doctor examines the blood group and ensures that the person can donate blood or not. Normally, blood group is of 4 types – A, B, AB and O. It is compulsory to match blood group before donating blood, otherwise it can be dangerous or even increase the health problems. In this article, we will study about the rarest blood group “Bombay Blood Group”.

What is the Bombay Blood Group?

This type of rarest blood type is found only in the world of 0.0004 percent of the population. Only one person in 10,000 people in India has Bombay Blood Type. It is also called HH blood type or Rare ABO blood group. This blood phenotype was first discovered by the Doctor YM Bhende in 1952.
This is called Bombay Blood because it was first found in some people of Bombay. The Hh blood group contains one antigen, the H antigen, which is found on virtually all RBCs and is the building block for the production of the antigens within the ABO blood group. To understand more, their red cells (RBC) have ABH antigens and their sera contains anti-A, anti-B, and anti-H.
Anti-H has not been discovered in the ABO group, but it has been detected in the Pre transfusion Test. This H antigen works as a building block in the ABO blood group. The lack of H antigen is known as “Bombay phenotype”.

A person with a Bombay Blood type can take and donate blood to whom?

A person with a Bombay blood group can give blood to an ABO blood group person. But they can’t receive blood from them. A person can take blood only from its own blood type ie Hh blood type.

Where Bombay Blood is found?

It is often seen that the Bombay blood type is found only in people with close blood relation. Those who hold this phenotype in Bombay will be only 0.01 per cent. If the parent has Bombay blood type, blood then there is a possibility that the child blood type will also be Hh.

Let’s see about blood grouping.

In the year 1900-1902, K. Landsteiner divided the human blood into four groups- A, B, AB and O. Except the O blood group, A, B, AB groups have corresponding antigens. Therefore, O can give blood to any blood group and so is called the universal donor. AB group is called Universal Recipient because it can take blood from A, B, AB and O i.e. from all blood groups.