In general, the Human blood They are classified into eight main groups, based on types 0, A, B, AB and Rh positive (+) or negative (-) factors. However, new research has recently revealed that A An extremely rare mutation In a very rare blood variant, which suggests there may be rare blood variants that cannot be detected by standard tests.
A group of researchers led by hematologist Janjira Kitivorapart, from Mahidol University in Thailand, analyzed more than 544,000 blood samples in a Thai hospital, which revealed that Three people They uploaded a never-before-seen version of Phenotype B(A)It is a genetic quirk estimated to occur in about 0.00055% of people.
In addition to the eight main categories into which blood is classified, there are some less common variables. One of these is B(A)blood type B, but has some mutations that give its enzyme a small amount of activity similar to that of A, it indicates Science Alert.
Each blood type is determined through observation Two different components From the blood – antigens in red blood cells and antibodies in plasma – which are crucial when a blood transfusion is given so that the recipient does not receive blood that causes disease.
Sometimes, red blood cells and plasma from the same blood sample can give different results, known as… ABO contradictionwhich can cause delays in patient care as they try to find out their true blood type.
In this research published in the magazine Science of blood transfusion and apheresisScientists are trying to understand What frequency is there? This ABO discrepancy and why. To do this, they analyzed 544,230 samples collected over eight years at Siriraj Hospital in Thailand, of which only 396 (0.15%) had an ABO discrepancy.
Of that group, only three samples were provided Phenotype B(A). After further investigation into these rare cases, they found four Mutations in the ABO genea configuration not previously reported.
This makes researchers believe that although it only affects a small portion of the population, there could be other hidden blood characteristics that have not yet been discovered. “he Requires future studies To elucidate the structural and functional consequences of the mutant AB transferase,” they concluded in their study.