The human blood is classified under different blood group based on different types of classification. The two most commonly used mode of classification are the ABO blood grouping system and the Rhesus blood grouping system.

The ABO grouping system consist of blood group A, blood group B, blood group AB and blood group O. the Rhesus grouping system consists of Rh+ group and Rh- group.

A person’s blood group is commonly defined with the two grouping system together example someone could be said to be B+, O-, etc. Knowing your blood group can be helpful in various cases such as:

1. Medical emergencies

In emergency situations that require blood transfusions, the hospital has to test your blood to determine your blood group. In most emergency situations, blood of O- blood grouping is given out because it’s a universal donor.

But the situation may be that that specific blood type is not available and they have to be specific about the type of blood to give.

Any blood that is incompatible could result in clumping of your blood and this may eventually lead to death. In a situation where you already know your blood group, it could save them a lot of time for the doctors and a compatible blood would be transfused in the nick of time.

2. Donating

It helps to know your blood group if you are considering being a donor. Knowing your blood group makes it easier to perform blood transfusions to individuals in emergency situations.

The hospital will still have you tested to be sure but if you know your blood group then it will be easier to offer your blood in emergency blood transfusion or bone marrow transplant situations.

3. Pregnancy

Knowing a woman’s Rh factor is very important in pregnancy situations due to the probability of the occurrence of erythroblastosis fetalis (haemolytic anemia of the new born). if a woman is Rh-, her child has a high chance of getting this disease if her child is Rh+.

This usually occurs when the child is the subsequent child to the first who was Rh+. This is because after the first birth of a Rh+ baby by an Rh- woman, the body of the woman develops an antibody against the Rh factor.

As a result, if her next child is Rh+, because he possesses this Rh antigen on the surface of his red blood cell, it will cause Rh incompatibility. This means, the body of the mother will treat the child as a foreign body and will attack the child, leading to the abortion (miscarriage) of the child.

However, there are preventive measures to this and if the woman knows her blood group, she will be immediately aware of the situation at hand which could help prevent this.

4. Predicting diseases

Some blood group types are at a higher risk of getting some diseases than others while some are more immune to some diseases than others.

For example; blood groups AB, A and B are at a higher risk of getting blood clot diseases as well as heart diseases. Individuals with blood group A are at a higher risk of getting stomach ulcer but they are also said to be very fertile.

Blood groups AB and B are at a higher risk of getting pancreatic cancer and those with blood group O have the lowest risk of getting a stroke. Knowing your blood group can help you to be cautious and extra careful of diseases you are at a higher risk of having.

5. Improving diet and workout

These antigens that are found on the surface of your red blood cell are not only found in your blood. These antigens are found in other places in your body including places that come in contact with the external environment such as the alimentary canal.

Therefore, these antigens come in contact with our food and some case of studies believe that these antigens influence how our body reacts to food.

There’s something called the blood group diet. For example, type O individuals are advised to eat high amount of protein, with more plant protein than lean meat while type A individuals are advised to eat mostly fruits and vegetables.

It helps to know your blood group to know what is best for you if you want to improve your diet.

6. Exercise

It is believed that knowing your blood group will help you determine what exercise you can perform better with the best effect on your body. Type A individuals are said to perform yoga and Tai chi best, type O can handle more strenuous workouts, while type AB gets the best of both.