Thread: blood type

becuase there is A B and AB blood types how did tyupe O blood come out?

Mutation.

be more specific

Originally Posted by An inconvenient lie

be more specific

Type O is merely the lack of expression of the A or B antigens. Most likely came about due to a deletion mutation in an A or B individual, resulting in the antigen either being chopped such that the extracellular part is not expressed or messed up enough that it can't be transported to the cell membrane. That's speculation, but there are many similar ways it could have come about.

Originally Posted by An inconvenient lie

be more specific

I was leaving that as an exercise for the student. :wink:

Actually, A, B, and O are names given to specific antigens on red cells. O is simply the lack of any of the others, which is why I can say my children cannot be type O, as I am AB.

These groups are only four of the most common, e.g. Rh factor (positive or negative), Kell, Duffy, etc. From what I recall of my early training, there are dozens.

I hope this helps