Q: Good morning ma’am. My blood group is AB negative, I am the first child of my parents. Whose blood is likely to be negative between my parents? Who can I marry?

A: Hmm, this our blood group gist is raising loads of wahala 😀 Sweetheart, trust me, you can marry anyone…well, any blood group technically. The main reason is because a higher percentage of the population is Rhesus positive and so if you have to wait for that Rhesus negative guy that you’re attracted to, you might be waiting for a long time 😀

More seriously though, every child inherits their blood type and Rhesus factor from both parents. And so, if you’re AB negative, you inherited the negative Rhesus factor from both parents. As I explained in my blood group post, if you are Rhesus negative and your husband is Rhesus Positive, your child could be Rhesus Positive or Negative (depending on the mix of factors he inherits from you and your hubby). If the baby is Rhesus Positive in the first pregnancy, this is not really a problem. At the time of separation of the placenta, some of the baby’s blood cells get mixed with the mother’s blood and sensitization occurs (the process by which the mother’s body recognizes the baby’s cells as foreign bodies and tries to get rid of them). However, the mother’s immune system is able to quickly deal with this such that it is not a problem. However, the next time the Rh negative mother is exposed to Rhesus Positive blood (through a blood transfusion or pregnancy), full blown sensitization occurs as the antibodies produced in the last pregnancy quickly spring to the attack and move in for the task of destruction of the baby’s cells .

Preventing this is easy as the Rhesus Negative mother has to take Anti-D immunoglobulin within 72 hours of having her baby to get rid of the circulating antibodies itching to get into her baby and destroy his cells.

If a Rhesus negative mother is pregnant with a Rhesus negative child, there’s no cause for alarm J

I hope this helps J

It was blood transfusion day a couple of days ago. Please try and give the gift of life. Donate blood today…okay maybe not today (if you’re in Nigeria :D). Tomorrow maybe…as it’s practically midnight 😀 The life you save may be your own.

For more on blood group and blood donation, please click on the following links:

https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/06/09/daily-health-tips-more-on-blood-group/

https://chatwithdrketch.com/2013/07/15/can-you-give-the-gift-of-life/

Have a good night, y’all 😀