In our extended family, about 25 years ago someone decided it would
be a good idea to know everyone's blood types, in case of an accident or
major surgery where blood donation might be required. Most of us
preferred the idea of receiving blood from family whose social behaviors
were healthier than those of society in general.
Everyone noted their blood types on a sheet of paper posted by Mom and
Dad's kitchen phone. Initially, it was the eight siblings and mom. And
the eight siblings each had a different, unique blood type. Shocking
but true. Mom was A+. Dad didn't jot his down because he wasn't 100%
positive, but he thought he was O. (No. No. No. I tried to be pretty
gentle about this, and eventually had to let it go.) Fortunately, he
came back a little later and informed everyone he was B-. Life could
have gotten pretty interesting if he'd turned out to be O (it would
suggest that at least half the children weren't his).
I don't think we need to have a detailed discussion on the genetics of
blood types here. If interested, you can research that on your own.
What you do need to know is that A and B are co-dominant and O is
recessive. For the Rh factor, positive (+) is dominant to negative (-).
You need to know blood types for you, your family, and all the other
members of your group. You also need to know what types of blood you
can receive and to whom you can donate.
A+ can receive A+, A-, O+,O- can donate to A+, AB+
A- can receive A-, O- can donate to A+, A-, AB+, AB-
B+ can receive B+, B-, O+, O- can donate to B+, AB+
B- can receive B-, O- can donate to B+, B-, AB+, AB-
AB+can receive everything--universal acceptor can donate only to AB+
AB- can receive A-, B-, AB-, O- can donate to AB+, AB-
O+ can receive O+, O- can donate to A+, B+, AB+, O+
O- can receive only O- can donate to everyone--universal donor
Because O- people can donate to anyone, they are called universal
donors, or in more colorful language, walking blood banks. If you have
one of these people in your group, and only one set of body armor, this
person gets it.
If you don't know your blood type, now's the time to find out. By the
time most of us are adults, we've had occasion to find out for one
reason or another. But children can be a different matter. So you can
take your child down to a hospital lab and pay around $100 for a test.
Or you can order one from Amazon and DIY it at home. The kit is called
an Eldon card, and at the cheapest, purchased in the right quantities,
they run about $3.00 each. We ordered eight kits for our family of
seven because that was the cheapest way to go. If I were of
child-bearing age, I'd probably have a couple of extras on hand.
Because my husband and I are both O+, the odds were high that all the
kids would be O+ as well. However, we also know that my husband carries
the Rh negative gene as well (because his dad is B-). I may carry it,
too; there's no way to test for that (well, none that I was ever willing
to do). We did the tests to be absolutely sure everyone was O+;
receiving the wrong blood type is deadly. Happily, we are all O+; we
can all donate to each other if necessary.
The supplies for collecting blood and administering it into a patient
are a topic for the future. But if you really want to get started on it
now, get some (ok, a lot of) rayon gauze sponges for soaking up blood.
You may have to collect the blood of a patient that is bleeding out and
re-use it (in that patient). Rayon sponges are sturdier than cotton
and can be washed and sterilized for re-use more readily.
Links to related posts:
Wrapping instruments and other items for sterilization 29 january 2019
