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Do you know your blood type?


Do you know your blood type?  

  1. 1. Do you know your blood type?

    • Yes, I do know my blood type.
      209
    • No, I don't know my blood type.
      20
    • other (please explain!)
      3


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If yes, please post how you found out. Thanks! My ds needs to know his for study abroad, and we find it odd that they never tested it before or tell you what it is. I know because once when I hand-carried my chart from a clinic to the main hospital, I read it all before giving it to them even though I wasn't supposed to. So ds and I were curious how many people know their blood types.

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I found out mine when I got my dogtags in the military. Three of my kids know their blood type. We had a blood typing party here one night. The kits aren't expensive and its really interesting to see the results. It won't work if you have an overly dramatic, squeamish kid, hence why we only know 3 blood types and not 4.

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I used to give blood all the time (donate at the hospital) and found out then. I am A positive. I've given over a gallon of blood but since I had kids I can't seem to give any more. Don't really know why, but I still have all the needle marks in my arms from years and years ago of giving blood.

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Mine is on the hospital card given to my mom when I was born, they used to routinely test the baby's. I had it confirmed when I started donating blood. The kids however have never been formally tested, though I did order a bunch of blood typing kits to use when we study the human body, to see if I can figure out their blood types.

 

I am O+

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I went and picked up the birth hospital record before dd had surgery this summer. My blood was checked at pregnancy; the dc's were all checked at birth. I'm pretty sure they didn't tell us the blood type each time, but I saw it on the newborn chart. My dc are all the same type, but some are + and some are -. I couldn't keep it straight if I didn't have it written down!

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And now I am curious -- darn it! This is going to bug me.

 

I remember in Biology class we did a test -- had to stick our fingers and everything, and I was a big baby about it -- putting a drop of blood on a strip that told us what type we were. Did anyone else have to do this? Pretty simple --

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I know mine just from asking my doctor to test it when I was getting tests for some other reason, years ago. And same for my kids- they were getting tested for other things and I just asked if they could test for blood type as I was curious. Dd and I are O positive and Ds is O negative.

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When I gave blood years ago I was given a card (credit card sized) from the American Red Cross that listed my blood type. I keep it in my wallet in case anything ever happens and a medical professional needs to know. Of course, they probably wouldn't even bother to look in my wallet if I was unconscious and would just test me to find out.

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I know I am O+. I found out when I was pregnant with dd.

 

I don't know any of my kids' types though. I've asked about having it done, but the dr.s all say it's too expensive. :confused:

 

Guess I'll have to have DH teach the circulatory system when the time comes. Just reading this thread is making me woozy.

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Well, in keeping with having the 2nd or 3rd rarest type... I'm the first to list AB+

 

I did a test in 8th grade science class. Everyone thought it "had" to be wrong (more genetics/probability issues). But, it was later confirmed when I donated blood -- and again when I got pregnant with my first child.

 

No doubt about it, I'm AB+

 

I know my oldest is B+ -- but none of my others have been tested yet.

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All I know is that I'm negative, but I can't remember what letter. I know this because I had to get the bonus shots they give when the Mom is negative and the babies are positive. There was one boy who is negative, too, but I don't know which one...although if I had to guess I'd lean towards ds8.

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I'm AB, but I don't know if it's positive or negative. My PA (my cousin) told me I was AB like her when I was pregnant with my daughter. I know my brother was AB.

 

My husband is O, my son is B, and my daughter would have to be either A or B, but I don't think she knows.

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I'm A-. I found out when I was a blood donor and then get tested again when I've been pregnant. I have to get Rhogam because of the Rh-. C5 is A+ and H2 is O+. I remember because I had to get Rhogam again after both of them were born.

 

The reason that doctors don't test people routinely is that it's not that important to know on a day to day basis. And if it is ever a situation where it's important to know (pregnancy, going into surgery, etc) then they will test again no matter what. Noone wants to take the chance of giving someone the wrong blood because the patient was mistaken about their blood type or because the chart was labeled wrong. It's always going to be tested again before blood is given or needed. And if it's a true emergency then they will give O- blood while waiting for the blood to be typed and screened.

 

A great example of this is my own dh. He was sure his blood type was A-. When I was pregnant with the first, that's what he told me. That would have meant no need for Rhogam if both of us were pregnant. But he couldn't find documentation of his blood type so I went ahead and got the Rhogam. C5 was born....blood type was A+. Hmmm...not possible if we're both negative. Pretty sure he's dh's. :) Dh's sister came to the hospital and I asked her what his blood type was...she immediately knew dh was A+. And that's why doctors always test even if the person "knows" their blood type.

 

People often ask why babies aren't always tested. They only test the baby if the Mom is O or negative as those are the situations where there is the most chance of their being an interaction between Mom and baby's blood types and a potential problem. So if you are O or negative your kids were probably tested at birth and it is somewhere in their records. If not...it's unlikely they have ever been tested.

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they tell you when you donate. The Red Cross keeps it on record. My dh has the rarest bloodtype so he gets personal phone calls every few months begging him to come in and donate. I'm B positive and dh is AB negative.

 

Hubby is B- and he gets the call every six weeks. Another kid is B- and one is B + - the other two kids I think are Os like me.

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B- There doesn't seem to be many of those. I know with my first pregnancy my doc talked a lot about this, but I don't remember what dh was. I am assuming both of my dd's are negative because I didn't have any shots. They may have told me with the first, but I don't remember. I bet I could get my younger to do the blood test. The 14yo would be sick or faint dead away:rolleyes: Maybe this would be a good co-op science experiment. :D

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If yes, please post how you found out. Thanks! My ds needs to know his for study abroad, and we find it odd that they never tested it before or tell you what it is. I know because once when I hand-carried my chart from a clinic to the main hospital, I read it all before giving it to them even though I wasn't supposed to. So ds and I were curious how many people know their blood types.

-- having not read other replies--

 

All moms should absolutely know their blood type. If you don't, you can bet it's because you are a positive (+). ("a" is generalized here; not meaning "A" as in the blood type.)

 

"Negative" (-) mommies get lovely shots in the rear (Rhogam) for every "positive" (+) baby they deliver (which if there's a "positive" (+) daddy involved is almost guaranteed). And if you're really "lucky" you get more than one. . .

 

I'm also quite sure they test babies upon delivery (in military hospitals they do). Maybe this is only a US thing? (I don't recall them doing it in England -- but the military did later on.) So, I would assume that your child's blood type would be in his chart.

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I donated blood once, but it turned out I was pretty ill at the time, and I never even thought about checking my blood type since I had other concerns. I found out when I was pregnant, and DH and I have the same blood type, as it turns out. When I asked the docs why they don't routinely test for it at birth, I was told that it's an expensive test if done by a lab, since folks usually have it done for paternity testing, and that most insurance won't automatically cover for the same reason.

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Yup. I donated blood once and found out then. Mr. Ellie has the same--A Negative. So did my mother. I'm assuming my dds are A Neg, but I missed that part of biology when I moved from Virginia to South Carolina in 10th grade, so I'm not sure of the heredity thingies there.:D

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