An (old) card from the hospital states that my blood group is A1 Rhesus (anti D) positive. Now I have a health App on my smartphone where I can enter all my medical data, but now I can only choose blood group A, between A+ and A-. What is the correct blood group?
Answer
Dear Ans,
Blood groups are formed because sugars form on the outside of the red blood cells. Which sugars depend on the genes you have.
In blood group A you have two enzymes that are made and that make the same sugar. However, A1 produces those sugars in higher numbers than A2 and is therefore a slightly different blood group than A2.
The rhesus factor determines whether you will be positive or negative and has nothing to do with your “A”. In the blood group system, the rhesus factor is denoted by the letter D.
So your blood group is A1 rhesus + (or to fill in: A+)
Kind regards,
Answered by
Dr Jasper Verguts
Gynecology Obstetrics
Old Market 13 3000 Leuven
https://www.kuleuven.be/
.