

People who have this Rh factor on their red blood cells are Rh positive. Rh, formerly known as Rhesus, is another protein that is found on the surface of red blood cells. These ABO blood types are further classified as Rh positive or Rh negative. O blood types, however, have neither A nor B antigens. They are known as A, B, AB and O.Ī blood types have the A antigen, B blood types have the B antigen, and AB blood types have both A and B antigens. There are four main antigens that make up the four main blood groups.

They serve as markers to characterize each cell type. On the surface of the red blood cells are proteins and sugars called antigens.

What does DNA stand for? What to know about deoxyribonucleic acid and its function. What is the most common blood type? Here's which of the eight is most (and least) common. The second most common blood type is A positive which occurs in "33% of Caucasian, 24% of African American, 27% of Asian and 29% of Latino American" populations. To break down further, O positive occurs in "37% of Caucasian, 47% of African American, 39% of Asian and 53% of Latino American," populations, according to the American Red Cross. This blood type is in high demand since it is " the most frequently occurring blood type." The most common blood type is O positive, which is the blood type of 37% of the U.S. Just Curious? Your everyday questions, answered What is the most common blood type? What is the smallest unit of life? Get to know what makes up all living things. The blood type of B negative is also uncommon, occurring in "2% of Caucasian, 1% of African American, 0.4% of Asian and 1% of Latino American" populations, according to the American Red Cross. There are over 600 other known antigens, and the absence or presence of them creates " rare blood types." Someone's blood type is considered rare if they lack "antigens that 99% of the people are positive for." If you lack an antigen 99.9% of people have, your blood type is " extremely rare." According to the American Red Cross, AB negative blood type occurs in "1% of Caucasian, 0.3% of African American, 0.1% of Asian and 0.2% of Latino American" populations. What is the rarest blood type?īased on statistics, the rarest blood type is AB negative. But which is the rarest? Here's what to know. There are eight common blood types: A positive, A negative, B positive, B negative, O positive, O negative, AB positive and AB negative. Someone's blood type is determined by " the presence or absence of certain antigens – substances that can trigger an immune response if they are foreign to the body," according to American Red Cross. This makes up approximately 10% of an adult’s weight. In fact, an adult who weighs between 150 and 180 pounds has around 1.2 to 1.5 gallons of blood in their body.
