Our blood consists of red blood cells and white blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout your body, while white blood cells help us fight infections. Additionally, our human blood contains platelets that help our blood clot.
However, we have some additional components in blood. One of them is known as antigens that are proteins and sugars by their chemical structure. Antigens cover red blood cells and they help us determine the blood type we have. Although science says that there are actually 33 blood group systems, only two of them are commonly used. The first one is known as Rh+/Rh- blood group system, while the other one is called ABO.
People who have B negative blood type are often called as those who have the most precious blood on the planet. Since this is a very rare blood type, for people in need, this can mean that getting the right amount of blood on time can be a difficult process; and it can involve a serious network of medicine workers, doctors, and other health professionals all over the world.
Millions of people all over the world have benefited from blood transfusion. Reasons for blood transfusion can vary. It can be a burn, cancer, lots of different diseases. It also includes traumas, accidents, and so on. Still, transfusion is lifesaving only when done properly and on time. That is why hospitals must always ensure that the blood types of the donor and those who are receiving the blood are compatible. So if you are not sure about your blood type, make sure to check it just in case of an emergency. Because few people have B negative blood type, this rare blood is not needed very often. However, without having a proper network, it can be a race against a clock to get fitting blood (B-) to the patient in crisis.
Interesting Facts about B- blood type
1. It is one of the rarest blood types in the world.
A cool B- Blood fact is that it is estimated that only 2% of the world population has this blood type. This means that approximately one in sixty-seven donors has a B – blood type. As we mentioned, human blood has antigens, and some people (160 out of 340) have antigens that are ‘’high prevalence’’. If you have ‘’high prevalence’’ your blood is not rare since a lot of people have it on their red blood cells. On the other hand, if your body lacks this antigen that is present in the majority of blood types, your blood is considered to be rare, hence precious.
2. B negative can donate blood to B and AB patients
People who belong to B- blood group can give blood only to those who have both B+ and B-, or AB blood group. However, when it comes to receiving blood, B negative people can accept blood only from B – or O negative blood groups. Indeed, it is not often that someone needs B negative or O negative blood transfusion, but in case it does, both groups are really rare, so it can be really hard to find a proper donor. The reason why B negative blood group can’t receive blood from positive groups is quite simple, this ‘’highly prevalence’’ antigen is missing from the blood cells of a person with a negative blood group. That’s what makes it negative in the first place. If somebody with a negative blood group receives blood from someone who has a positive blood type group, the immune system will be triggered because blood cells aren’t compatible. This kind of transfusion can be fatal for a patient.
3. Risk of not having Rh factor
As we explained, other than the ABO system, there is an additional marker that determines blood type. That marker is known as the Rh factor and its presence determines if the blood is positive and negative. So, if the Rh factor is present, the blood group is positive, and if there is no Rh factor in the blood, the blood group is negative. As you might have suggested, B – doesn’t have Rh factor, hence it has a certain risk that is common to all negative blood types. This risk is mostly connected to women during pregnancy, an important fact about B- blood types. As you know, there is a certain inheritance pattern for all blood groups, and when a woman stays pregnant, there can be some complications if the blood of the mother doesn’t have Rh factor and the fetus has it (meaning that mother is negative and the fetus positive blood group.
4. Celebrities with B- blood type
As we said, with only 2% population having it, B negative blood type is really rare, a fact about B- blood type that we’ve already discussed. This makes some celebrities unique not only because they have talent, but because their biology is unique too. For example, actors such as Johhny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jack Nicholson have B- blood type. When it comes to music, Paul McCartney has it too. One of the reports that can be found on Blood Banker even says that up to 0.5% of people who have B negative blood type are not ‘’non-famous’’, which means that approximately 1.5% of average people in the world have this rare blood.
5. B – blood type and physical characteristics
It is said that some specific physical traits are common for people with this blood group. For example, they usually have a high forehead (or a larger one), they are known to have one extra rib too. When it comes to blood pressure, people with B- often struggle with low blood pressure and low pulse rate along with it. It is also said that people who have this blood type have light hair and eye color and heightened senses than the average people.
Conclusion
Those who have blood type B- have a few challenges that all other groups don’t have to deal with. Aside from being extremely rare, these persons can have increased cortisol level if they are experiencing stress and they are sensitive to food that contains lectin. On the other hand, it is said that when it comes to physical activity, people from this blood group are better at physical activities than other blood types.
I hope that this article on B- blood type facts was helpful. If you are interested, visit the Health Facts Page!
