# What is your blood type? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 15, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028 "2010-02-15T03:09:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/21 "2010-02-15T13:31:13Z")
That is why I started donating blood in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/22 "2010-02-15T13:46:01Z")
I’m B-. I couldn’t donate blood for awhile there because I have lupus and the Red Cross didn’t accept blood from people with lupus, but that was changed and I’m back in! I’m scheduled to donate on 3/7. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/23 "2010-02-15T14:52:21Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > They always bite my hand off when I go to give blood 'cos they can always use a bit of O neg. Same here, plus I have no anti-CMV antibodies. PLUS I have beautiful veins. I’m a phlebotomist’s dream come true. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/24 "2010-02-15T14:59:20Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > I know what type I am (O+), but my husband doesn’t. Is there a cheap, easy way to find out? I mean, I’m not gonna pay to send him to the doctor’s office where they’ll probably charge $200 just to find out what blood type he is. Should I just have him go donate blood? Would they tell him? When you donate blood they send you a little card with your blood type on it. They also sell little kits (I’ve seen them on Amazon) that you can use at home. No idea whether those are accurate, though. I wish this poll had a multiple choice option, because I’m an oddity. Depending on the method of testing, I am either Aneg or Apos. I’m what’s called a weak D variant - the Rh antigen “D” is what makes you positive or negative. Have it, you’re positive; lack it, you’re negative. Well, in my case it’s like I have half of it. When they tested my blood at birth, I was called Aneg. Went through my whole life thinking that’s what I was. Then I donated blood in college and the card I got back said Apos. When I went into med tech school and had classes in Blood Bank, I learned about how the testing works and it all made a lot more sense. I was a useful source of educational tubes of blood for my classmates for a while. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/25 "2010-02-15T15:11:36Z")
Back when I was able to donate (medical issues, but I gave 15 gallons while I was able) I would try to get to the blood center early, because blood from the first few 0- doners were collected in quad packs for pediatric use. I always liked that. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/26 "2010-02-15T15:14:41Z")
AB- is way ahead of the average, which is only 1% usually. ---
**Author:** ![JuliaSqueezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/82dd89/32.png) [@JuliaSqueezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JuliaSqueezer)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/27 "2010-02-15T15:23:51Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Back when I was able to donate (medical issues, but I gave 15 gallons while I was able) I would try to get to the blood center early, because blood from the first few 0- doners were collected in quad packs for pediatric use. I always liked that. Brother C, I was told by the Red Cross that whenever I come in to donate, I’m to remind them to use the quad pack, because O neg/ CMV neg blood like mine can be used quickly for preemies. It didn’t matter if I got there early or late. But this could just be the practice of our Red Cross region. I always pictured the little quarter-size bag hanging on a pole, doing all kinds of good things. My maternal instict kicking in, probably. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/28 "2010-02-15T16:06:42Z")
I haven’t the foggiest idea. Honestly though, why would you need to know? If you end up in the hospital needing blood they certainly aren’t going to simply take you at your word as to what your blood type is… they’re going to check to be sure! ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/29 "2010-02-15T16:32:59Z")
AB- I’m told it’s the rarest on the planet. So there. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/30 "2010-02-15T16:37:49Z")
hell, it’s not even the rarest on the _board_ according to current scores ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/31 "2010-02-15T17:40:21Z")
O+, and due to donate again in just a few weeks. Our college started regular blood drives last year. I love it! I just go in a little early, hop on the donation bus, get a snack, and go to class. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/32 "2010-02-15T17:42:35Z")
Another Greedy AB+ Checking in… > [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#): > > On the reverse side, my blood can only be given to other AB+ people. I wonder how much of what I donate is wasted? Actually, I was always told when I gave blood that they appreciated the AB+ blood because that way they could just give it to another AB+ person without having to lose their precious supplies of the good stuff. Take that for what it’s worth, but apparently they prefer not wasting their supplies on us greedy bastards if they’ve got our own kind around. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/33 "2010-02-15T17:45:09Z")
Like everything else about me - A+ ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/34 "2010-02-15T17:55:11Z")
I must have aced the blood test, because my card came back A+. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/35 "2010-02-15T17:59:37Z")
> [@JuliaSqueezer](#): > > Brother C, I was told by the Red Cross that whenever I come in to donate, I’m to remind them to use the quad pack, because O neg/ CMV neg blood like mine can be used quickly for preemies. It didn’t matter if I got there early or late. But this could just be the practice of our Red Cross region. > > I always pictured the little quarter-size bag hanging on a pole, doing all kinds of good things. My maternal instict kicking in, probably. In my region, they only collected a limited number of quad packs each day, probably because they had limited need for them. I always liked it when they took mine for that purpose, so I made a point of getting in early if I could. ---
**Author:** ![Pocito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@Pocito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pocito)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/36 "2010-02-15T18:05:08Z")
I’m O- and Red Cross calls me all the time to donate. I donate whenever I can, but I just had a baby, and they had been going nuts for months prior asking me when that baby was coming out. I felt special, even if my blood type isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/37 "2010-02-15T18:08:56Z")
Sadly, the Red Cross won’t let me donate because my blood comes back as positive for hepatitis. A false positive according to the lab. ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/38 "2010-02-15T18:08:58Z")
O+. Plus, I’m negative for whatever that virus is- CMV, I think?- so they like my blood for newborn babies. I’ve been called by the Blood Center several times in the past when a hospital told them there was or soon would be a newborn who needed a transfusion. “Can you come in TODAY?” It’s great to be able to do that. My guess is that just posting a poll like this skews the results a bit so that rarer blood types are over-represented. I suspect it’s just human nature that if you see a chance to let people know some way in which you’re unique or unusual, you’ll speak up. I know I would. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/39 "2010-02-15T19:38:57Z")
The Red Cross would like me to donate, too (all negs are comparatively rare, being only about 15% of the population), but my veins are not a phlebotomists dream. I used to donate regularly, but they’ve made it into such an ordeal that I don’t bother any longer. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-blood-type/529028/40 "2010-02-15T19:43:32Z")
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