O Rh Negative blood lines and the Evolution and Biblical connections
81What the Bible says about blood...
While researching articles for this hub I came across an article that stated that the two words most frequently mentioned in the Bible were "God" and "Blood". I was surprised, though I may have heard this statement a long time ago.
There are biblical scholars out there that will know if this statement is true or false.Does the bible mention blood almost as often as it mentions God? Please let us know in the comments section below.
This is a requested hub about O Negative blood lines
Magnoliazz is a hubber that I have encountered in the hub community and she asked me on my hub Fun Facts About Blood Transfusions to write about O Negative bloodlines.
I am a certified Medical Laboratory Scientist by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and I have over 30 years of experience in the specialization of blood banking or Immunohematology. This is not to brag or prove how smart I am, but rather it is a statement of my credentials in this field of study.
Just to warn you about what is coming. The medical nomenclature changes frequently, eg...
MLT = Medical Laboratory Technician
MT = Medical Technologist
MLS = Medical Laboratory Scientist
CLT = Clinical Laboratory Technician
CLS = Clinical Laboratory Scientist.
All of these titles pretty much equal the same exact job. Pay scales and educational requirements are different, but all are pretty much the same thing.
The same thing in true for almost everything in the medical field! For the purposes of this hub, I will try to explain things as I go, but be aware that when I say:
Rh Negative, Rhesus Negative, D Negative, RhoD Negative, r'r', (little r / little r) and lower case "d" Negative all mean the EXACT same thing! There are also things called Du or "Weak D" variants that are way too complicated to explain here. Suffice it to say that the Rh Negative / Rh Positive genetic expression is in some ways quite simple and in other ways, quite complex. And this is just ONE of hundreds of genetic blood typing markers present on your red blood cells!
"Pure Blood"?
What is so important about O Negative bloodlines?
Group O, Rh Negative blood has two very distinctive characteristics:
- It is lacking either the "A" antigen or the "B" antigen in the ABO Blood Grouping classification developed by Karl Landsteiner for the major designation of blood groups. There are four major blood groups called Group A, Group B, Group AB and Group O
- It is lacking the "Rh" factor or "D" antigen (also expressed as "R1R1"). This factor was discovered by Landsteiner and others while working with Rhesus monkey blood.
Because of these two characteristics, O Negative blood is mistakenly considered a "universal donor" and can safely be given to ALMOST any recipient. Some people have the belief that O Negative blood is "pure" or "alien". Neither of the latter two statements are true.
Contrary to popular belief, O Negative blood is NOT a universal donor at all and cannot be dispensed to everyone. There are many, many genetic markers other than the "Rh" or "D" antigen marker that must be considered when determining compatibility of blood.
There is a genetic mutation called the "Du" variant. It is actually an Rh Positive antigen, which would make the blood "Rh Positive," but since it is very weakly expressed in tests, it's possible to be mistakenly read as Rh Negative.
Did the Rh factor come from monkeys?
The Rh protein and genetic marker was DISCOVERED in the Rhesus monkey. This specific genetic marker is found in primates of which man is one. This indicates that somewhere back in history, the genetic marker came from an ancestor that was common to apes, monkeys and man.
The Rh factor was so named because the discovery was made using Rhesus monkey blood. The nomenclature has been changed. Rh Positives are now noted with the capitol letter "D". There is another set of naming nomenclature that designates the homozygous* (having BOTH dominant expressions for Rh / D) as R1R1.
For further discussion, we can simplify the nomenclature to be:
DD = homozygous (inheriting the Rh factor from both parents)
Dd = heterozygous (inheriting one dominant and one recessive gene for the Rh factor) - Technically, this is actually a hemizygous gene as the lower case "d" marker is actually missing.
dd = the nullizygous expression of the Rh factor. (inheriting only the recessive expressions)
Explanation:
* If both genes (from both parents) are the same, the organism is homozygous for the trait. If both genes are different, the organism is heterozygous for that trait. If one gene is missing, it is hemizygous, and if both genes are missing, it is nullizygous ( Definitions from Wikipedia).
So a genetic chart for the Rh factor would look like the charts to follow:
Both parents are Rh Positive from Rh positive parents
Parents:
| D
| D
|
|---|---|---|
D
| Child = DD
| Child = DD
|
d
| Child = Dd
| Child = Dd
|
Both Parents are Rh Negative from Rh Negative Parents
Parents:
| d
| d
|
|---|---|---|
d
| Child = dd
| Child = dd
|
d
| Child = dd
| Child = dd
|
One parent is Rh Negative and One Parent is Rh Positive (homozygous)
Parents:
| D
| D
|
|---|---|---|
d
| Child = Dd
| Child = Dd
|
d
| Child = Dd
| Child = Dd
|
One parent is Rh Negative and one parent is Rh Positive (heterozygous)
Parents:
| D
| d
|
|---|---|---|
d
| Child = Dd
| Child = dd
|
d
| Child = Dd
| Child = dd
|
Both parents are Rh Positive and heterozygous
Parents:
| D
| d
|
|---|---|---|
D
| Child = DD
| Child = Dd
|
d
| Child = Dd
| Child = dd
|
So what Rh type were Adam and Eve?
Just based on the Rh genetic marker alone, we can see that Adam and Eve would need to be Rh Positive and Heterozygous - as explained below.....
- If Eve were produced from the exact genetic DNA code as Adam (because she was made from his rib which contained his DNA and no other DNA), they would necessarily have to have the exact same blood types - like an identical twin.
- If they were both Rh Negative and homozygous, they could never have produced an Rh Positive child or grandchild
- If they were both Rh Positive and homozygous, they could never have produced an Rh Negative child or grandchild
- If they were both Rh Positive and heterozygous, they would have produced 75% Rh Positive and 25% Rh Negative children.as in the example shown in the last table.
The current world ratio of Rh Positive to Rh Negative blood types is 85% to 15% - This is actually pretty close to the predicted values of both Adam and Eve being Rh Positive and Heterozygous as in the example shown in the last table.
So now we can say with some reasonable chance of probability that Adam and Eve were Rh "Dd" Positive and heterozygous in genetic expression.
Now, what about the four major blood Groups? A, B, AB and O?
I will have to stop at this point and commend my readers for having made it this far. It's quite technical and I have tried to simplify this as much as possible.
The ABO blood group is considerably more complicated than the Rh-"D" antigen system. If I present all of the inheritance charts in this hub, it would be so long as to lose all of my fans, so if the reader will indulge me here, I will create another hub to explain why Adam and Eve must have been Group AB and Rh (Dd) Positive (Heterozygous).
The blood groups are a different genetic line than the Rh - D line. The genetic phenotype is located on a different locus of the DNA code that determines blood types.
So when you hear that a blood type is "O Negative", you are actually hearing about two entirely different classifications of genetic expressions. These are the two major expressions, but there are actually hundreds of other genetic expressions of "blood type" that have been discovered and are used for compatibility testing.
If you want to do a little pre-research, check out the Kell "Kk", Duffy "FYA/FYB", Kidd "JKA/JKB" and "M / N / S" blood group systems.
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Group O's are hunter/gatherers from what I understand. I am also Group O. There is some science to the theory of D'Adamo's work on Eat Right for Your Type.
Hellooooo. Bloody 'eck! Great article I suspect!! I though we were all hunter-gatherers once? Or were some bloody politicians even back then that let the hoi-poloi do all the work? I thought so!
As for the bible, mine is too battered to read having been used as a door stop and cat projectile all these years.
Voted up and awesome, although it was all Greek to me...Bob
Nice introduction to the Mendelian genetics of blood types. Not sure that it can be used to rule out the Adam and Eve "hypothesis" though. There is pretty good evidence from mitochondrial DNA that all humans are matrilineal descendents of a single female ("Eve"):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondrial_Eve
There is also pretty good evidence from the Y chromosome that we are all patrilineal descendents of a single male ("Adam"):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y-chromosomal_Adam
Unfortunately (for biblical creationists), Adam and Eve lived several thousand years apart! Go figure....
Do you mean to say that the very first book of the Bible is inaccurate and quite possibly total crap? I had no idea!
Yes, Bob, Group A's were politicians for sure. Group B's were sheep, and Group AB's were just lounge lizards.
My bible is currently sitting in a landfill somewhere, or perhaps it was "resurrected" by some trash junkie. I use the cats themselves as projectiles and the dogs as doorstops. They love it.
It is a simple way to introduce Mendelian genetics of blood types. I'm still trying to diagram all of the possibilities of the ABO Groups. I need Manna to calculate the possibilities!
This is a really well done and informative hub...I'm presently halfway through a medical admin school program and only last week was taught that 'type O is a universal donor', lol, very interesting! Thanks for clarifying a few things.
For practical purposes, O Negative or O Positive blood can be thought of as a "universal donor". However, there are exceptions to this and we still make physicians sign a legal form stating that whenever they need to give blood in an emergency situation that they are aware the blood is "uncrossmatched" and may present a risk of death.
There are frequent instances when just being "O Negative" is not enough. Other antibodies to certain antigens that are potentially lethal must be considered.
I see...I'm still shocked that they wouldn't have included this pertinent info in the lesson, even just one little sentence. Oh well, I know now, thanks.
This is why blood bankers are in such high demand. We must keep up with the science behind blood transfusions and the conclusions drawn from them. Administrators and even physicians delegate this responsibility to us. Unfortunately, once a concept is learned by non-specialists, they tend to repeat what they know and believe to be true. They must learn other areas of expertise instead of keeping up with the nuts and bolts.
Hi Lela (Austinstar) - I enjoyed reading your article here for three main reasons - (1) its accuracy, (2) its purposes relating to biblical figures, and (3) the confusion it will almost certainly bring to many readers who know only that blood is red and that people need the stuff. Thanks for a great article (one again).
Gus :-)))
Thank you Gus! And it was my 100th hub too! I didn't know we got a special email and prize for writing the 100th. Oh thank you, thank you all!
I'm really trying to write 101 and I have some problems. I can see the algorithms in my head, but having trouble expressing them without the technical background one would need. I'll just start with the first word and go from there, I guess.
Well I am simply idiot when it comes to this but I do know I was almost five years getting pregnant but actually my body was aborting every few months, meaning I was getting pregnant but my body was aborting the baby which is short of a miscarriage because of my husband and I having different blood types and each time I got pregnant apparently it was a baby of his blood type so my body rejected it but then I did have a baby of my blood type which meant I could then get a shot that protected all other pregnancies, but I only had two and both my blood type which all seven of Moms children had her blood type so she never had this problem and today I am sure it is all taken care of, pretty weird back then though.
It sounds like you are Rh Negative and were getting pregnant with Rh Positive babies. This is the only "shot" they can give to prevent future damage to fetuses. It's called Rh Immune Globulin, commonly called RhoGam which is a brand name.
But if you were aborting Rh Positive fetuses it meant that you have already made the antibody called Anti-D and a shot of RhiG will NOT protect future pregnancies. That is why you could only carry Rh Negative babies as they have no antigen for you to attack.
I am sorry for your losses.
It is possible that you could have had an ABO compatibility, but that usually results in mild hemolytic disease of the newborn which is very treatable and the fetus usually makes it to term.
If I had the specific blood types of you and your husband, I could be more specific.
great information...and you didn't totally lose me.
That's the best news I've had about this hub! Thank you, Enlydia
I understood this, as it is familiar territory, and look forward to your next article.
As to the Bible, the word God is use 4,473 times and the word Blood is used 447 times. For the sake of comparison, the word Holy is used 611 times. (KJV)
Thanks for clearing that up, Ivorwen. How did you tally the words? I was curious when I read that statement and wanted to find out for sure.
I was at school in the days when we pricked ourselves in science class to test our blood group. I was a 'boring old O' because my blood did not clot with the chemicals for A & B.
The anti-evolutionists won't like another monkey connection
Interesting.
I will have to read it about twenty times to understand it, but I will be back.
Keep up the good work.
Austinstar, I used an online version of Strong's Concordance, which lists all the words used in the Bible and every place they are found. It gave a count when I typed the words in.
Howdy, Tex. So, Austinstar is named after the state capital? I'm from the other side of the state -- Odessa. And my type is O-neg. Fun facts. Thanks!
Native Texans unite! My blood type is O+. I used to have a card where I typed it down to about 20 other types, but I lost it somewhere. I should run my phenotype again. Pretty sure I am K+k-, M+N- and S+s-.
But I digress.
BaileyBear, most people are Group O by a small margin, which is odd because it's a recessive genetic marker. But it does explain where all the other blood groups came from. Hardly anyone is AA or BB or ABAB, they are mostly AO, BO, and ABO. (Remember you get one gene from each parent). That's why you have two genetic markers instead of just one. Clever, huh?
Intreresting, My Mother has O RH negative blood type, while my father is A positive.
:) Katie
So, Katie, you could be A+ or O Neg, depending on your parents phenotype. Well, you should actually be Rh positive though, since it is the dominant trait.
Thanks, I appreciate it but there will be no more babies for sure, nice of you to offer though. Sounds like you know more than they did back then, both of mine are grown.
I loved the information. I am A+. I did't find ths out until I needed a blood transfusion of 2 units of blood many years ago, I understand the link to monkeys nut those engelivers think the monkey is a chimp. The Rhesus monkey is not a chimp. You did not lose me.
Thank you AustinStar for this awesome hub! You really do know your stuff, and thank you for telling people that O negative is not a universal donor.
Is there a way to find out which bloodtype is the oldest? I would think it would be O+ because it is the most common, but that may not really be the case.
Would you say that blood types then are the result of mutations or evolution? Would one certian bloodtype be better suited to the enviornment than the other? Do you think new human bloodtypes will appear in the future?
Don't take offense, I am just picking your brain a bit. I find this subject fascinating, you did a great job with this hub, I am voting it up.
99% of the time, O Negative red blood cells can be given safely in an emergency. But we have a saying in the blood bank, if something CAN happen, it WILL happen! And I have seen this proven a few times.
There is even a Group O phenotype called the Bombay phenotype that will die if given Group O blood. It's probably a genetic mutation.
I really can't say how many blood types there were way back in history. Perhaps some of them died out or evolved into new types. No way of knowing really. We can extrapolate backwards regarding the types we have discovered today which is what I did with the Rh gene or the "D" and little "d" gene marker. And as far as we know this is the only gene on this locus. Actually, the little "d" marker is missing and nothing occupies that marker which is why we call it negative. But for the purposes of doing Mendelian charts, we call it "d".
There is some environmental concerns regarding the Duffy system of blood typing. The FYA and FYB genes apparantly developed to protect against malaria and sickle cell disease in Africa. I'm not real familiar with all the research on sickle cell disease, but it is a huge problem for finding compatible red blood cells when they need a transfusion. Sometimes we have to go to the Red Cross rare donor frozen bank to get blood. So, I would definitely say that the environment played a part in sub-saharan Africa.
AB Positive blood would be the oldest as far as I know. Since that is where the 4 major groups come from.
I don't know if new blood types will evolve. I don't think the 4 major groups will change, but it's possible. Perhaps other blood typing systems like the Duffy system will evolve though.
Thank you AustinStar! Blood is much more complicated than most people think. It just boggles the mind what man has done within the last 100 years in the field of medicine. What will happen in the next 100 years? Hopefully cancer will be wiped out.
Whenever a transfusion is given, there could be a surprise, I always held my breath, because you just never know. People like you who work hard to keep our blood supplies as safe as possbile have my utmost respect.
Thank you for saying so, M!
Holy moley that's technical. I thought about going into lab tech myself but since I get sick at the sight of blood, figured that might be a bit of a downside for me...then there was the stewardess thing when I learned that I was terrified of flying. Maybe that's why I became a medical transcriptionist...it's hard to be afraid of a keyboard!
Great presentation and I was just asking about Adam and Eve the other day! Now I know the answer about their Rh status!! Seriously, I always wonder about this stuff when I'm typing it so may have to come back and reference this for one of my certification articles...no, I'm not certifiable....for my CMT cert which is due this year, too!
I'm stalled a bit on the second in this series, but I think I'll get to it this weekend! I'll try to make it less technical.
I got an A+ on my blood exam. One of the very few times I got that on any test :)
Oh, I'm sure you get an A+ in lots of tests, Pc! You are a smart one. Have you got rid of Reilly yet?
Nope. Can't find him :)
He's a slippery one.
Austinstar,
I kept up and I am in a vaguely similar line of work. Type and crossmatching is indeed complex but you did a good job keeping it as simple as possible.
blood is certainly a pre-occupation in the Bible - it gets 447 mentions bloody 16 times bloodguiltiness and bloodthirsty - once each - blood isn't the most popular word beside God though - not sure what is - time is mentioned 623 times Israel 2575 times - fascinating insights here on blood types, etc well done
I find it fascinating that someone actually kept tract of each word! I wish I had that kind of time on my hands. But I guess it's really the invention of computers that allowed the accurate tabulation of each word. How fun!
Actually just fed the question of how often the Word blood comes up in the Bible into Google search and saw what came up - Bible Concordances list words and phrases for cross referenciing so these kind of stats are available - someone had to actually do the countingthough which is impressive as much such work was available even before the computer age
Very cool hub! I am 'A' negative. I always find genetics interesting. I am the only one of 4 kids and 2 positive RH parents to have negative RH. Of my three kids, my youngest matches me exactly, so I saved one rhogam shot. I loved the way you explained it in terms of Adam and Eve. Thanks for the info. Your hub was very well done. Looking forward to reading more from you. Rated up and awesome.
Good hub Austin. Was a Critical Care Tech for a bit, among other things in the medical and nursing fields. Was thinking about doing a hub on something related to cardiac medicine. Voting up. Bye
IM O- ALONG WITH BOTH SIDES OF ALL MY FAMILY(MOTHER AND FATHER SIDE) I MARRIED MY HUSBAND WHO IS Ab+, I HAVE BEEN PREGANT 8 TIMES AND ONLY HAVE 2 LIVING CHILDERN WHO ARE BOTH O-. TWO OF MY PREGANCY WERE A ECTOPIC AND I HAD LOST OVER 4 LITERS OF BLOOD WITH ONE OF THE ECTOPIC PREGANCY I ALMOST DIED DUE TO THEY HAD TO FIND A EXECT MATCH FOR MY BLOOD TYPE, ALL FAMILY MEMBERS OF MY BLOOD TYPE WHO LIVED HERE IN THE UNITED STATES HAD DIABITES OR HEART PROBLEMS AND COULD NOT GIVE EXCEPT FOR A COUSIN WHO LIVED IN ANOTHER STATE, NEEDLESS TO SAY AFTER HOURS THEY FINALLY FOUND A MATCH AFTER I HAD WENT INTO CARDIC ARREST TWICE, I SURVIVED BUT NOW LIKE THE REST OF MY FAMILY HAVE HEART PROBLEMS. How common is it to have both sides of your family all the way down to first cousin to have this blood type my mother side is spanish from spain and my father is french and spanish, as well as all family members. MY family has always talked of our blood type and the elders of the family has been very negitve when we marry outside our blood type(like we need a dna test for who ever we marry) i always thought this was just their superstitious ways, but along with me and some cousin's we have all had problems carring children and only giving birth to O- children.
O Negative women can now receive Rh Immune Globulin which is like a vaccine that prevents the formation of antibodies to Rh Positive embryos. The abortion of Rh Positive fetuses is caused because the mother never received the vaccine. Once a mother is sensitized against the D antigen, nothing can be done. Her antibodies will always attack an Rh Positive fetus.
Women who are Rh Negative should be tested and treated as soon as they know they might be pregnant so they can receive the Rh Immune Globulin.
Good thing I used to be a CCT (Critical Care Tech) or I would have actually gotten lost in all that. You nailed technical writing, Great job!
I am O- and have had three kids who are all O+ I had an anti d shot after each of them. In an emergency could my blood be used to transfuse them? Thanks for the clear info by the way.
Yes, Clare, your blood could be used to transfuse your children who are O+ or O-.
There is another factor to consider however when donating blood to a close relative. It's called Graft vs Host disease and is usually worse if siblings give blood to each other. Quite often fathers donate for their infant children though.
The lab will do sufficient compatibility tests to see if you are a compatible donor for your children. I hope it doesn't come to that.
This is a fascinating topic. I'm pretty sure that I am 'O' ~ if I remember correctly. :)
I am 0- and cmv neg.And all my Doctors are telling me that 0- blood is unaversal but if I need blood I can only receave 0- and nothing else because other blood whould kill me.
Hi Dave. O neg, CMV neg is universal DONOR. You can donate blood for anyone. True you can only receive blood from other O negatives. But if you got blood from an O Positive, it would not kill you just make you form antibodies to the Rh factor.
If you got blood from an A, B, or AB person, it may or may not kill you, but it would make you very sick as your blood antibodies would hemolyze those types.
i am O-ve. what happens if i marry a person with same blood group?
If you are both Rh negative, you will have Rh negative children. If you are both Group O's, you should have Group O children.
to Cheyann
You are probably Basque (Spanish/French - Pyrenees area). I am also O rh-neg which is more common in Basque. Look at Basque people - if you're like me - you think OMG people who look like me ...lol
I also have trouble getting pregnant and have had many miscarriages. I have no children and I am now past menopause.
This whole RH Negative thing is weird and when you read all the conspiracy theories about RH Negative Blood origins ... jeez ... you'll need a shrink after reading ...
Nice article!
Truly, it doesn't matter what blood group you are. However, I think that the diet article is very interesting. On the other hand, Its really sad to read your posts that the Bible is taken as an irrelevant book. One day, it doesn't matter what you feel, think or say, you will be judged by every Word written in it. Wisdom would say: "Read it while you can. After you die you will not be able to undo anything you said or did on earth". The Bible is "The Answer Book" to know where you will spend eternity.
Its not about being destined to Heaven or Hell. Its a choice that only you can make. John 3:16.
Sorry, Adrian. I am an atheist and make no bones about it. Read your bible if you find it helpful, but I see it as a fictional account of the soap opera legends of the time it was written.
Enjoy.
If both genes are different, the organism is heterozygous for that trait. now how can adam and eve have same DNA but different genes?
They obviously can not have identical genetic codes. One is male, one is female - that is genetic coding.
Based on just this one fact, It would be impossible for Eve to be a clone of Adam (from a rib).
Of course, the religious answer is God can do anything, including the impossible. The scientific answer is more believable, don't you think?
the abo blood types predate humankind . they have equivlents in monkeys . in would not say o was the oldest . i don't think thats been proved .
Many blood types predate human blood genotypes. Blood group genotypes are found in every animal that has blood. What exactly is your point?
i do not see how anyone could say what blood type the 1st human was . niether would i want to be mislead .
No one can say what the first blood type was. We can only make assumptions about that based on the genetics of today. It's not a particularly important point, just something to wonder about.
i am pure africa from kenya with O negative blood type, both parents are also pure africans.i hear that this blood type is not found in africa.is this possible?.
Looks like it is possible since you and your parents are all O negative.
I have never heard of that before. We have a saying in the world of blood banking, "If it CAN happen, it WILL happen". Looks like it has happened in your case.
Does it mean cos am O negative both my parents are O negative?.
It is quite likely that your parents were both O negative. But I have no way of proving this.
Hi, I was wondering if a mother has o positive, and the father has rh o neg, and may b carring a rh o neg baby. Could there b complications ?? thank u.
No, it works the other way around. The MOTHER must be Rh Negative in order to develop antibodies to the Rh Positive fetus.
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I loved to read this I am type 0. I read a book on what the type 0 blood should eat which is best for blood type. Good points.