Golden Blood Group: All you need to know about this rare blood type
We know about the eight common blood types: A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-, O+, and O-, resulting from the standard pairings of the A, B, and RhD antigens. Yes, its these antigens that combine to create different blood groups. But there is one more blood type called the golden blood group. It sounds like a hoax, doesn't it? But it's true! The world's rarest blood type is the Rhnull or golden blood group.
As the golden blood group is found in persons whose Rh factor is null, this blood type is also known as Rhnull (meaning null of Rh antigen in blood). Three types of cells comprise your blood: White blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Red blood cells have a protein called Rh on their outer surface, which can be either positive or negative. However, the Rh in a person with golden blood group is neither positive nor negative. This condition indicates that their body has no Rh factor.
According to studies, the golden blood group is so rare that less than 45 people across the globe have it. According to the National Library of Medicine, scientists discovered this blood group in an Australian Aboriginal woman in 1961. Doctor GH Woz and his associates at Australia's King Edward Memorial Hospital were the first to write a thorough report on this. Let's find out more about this rare blood type!
Factors leading to this rare blood group
Genetic mutation (changes in genetic material) is the trigger behind the golden blood group. A change in the Rh-associated glycoprotein (RHAG) gene leads to the formation of the golden blood group in these individuals. There are two reasons for the occurrence of this blood type in the human body. Firstly, as it is a hereditary (generational) genetic mutation, the condition is passed down from parents to their children. Secondly, marriages involving cousins, siblings, or other near relatives also increase the possibility of golden blood in the offspring.
Risks associated with Golden Blood Group
Golden blood is valuable to medical science, but it is also extremely risky to live with this blood group. Finding a blood donor can be challenging for people with the golden blood group, and shipping blood across international borders is notoriously challenging.
Additionally, people with the golden blood group lack haemoglobin. These are red pigments found in blood that carry oxygen. As a result, the person's body can turn yellow and produce fewer red blood cells. Due to this, the Rhnull blood group has been reported to have a high anaemia prevalence. Anaemia is a health condition that results due to a lack of red blood cells. According to experts, the likelihood of miscarriage rises if the mother and foetus contain golden blood. Kidney failure is also more prevalent in people having this rarest blood group.
Why is it called the Golden Blood Group?
What is the relation between this blood group and gold? As you now know, the Rh antigen's total absence characterizes the golden blood group. This condition allows for everyone to receive this blood in a transfusion with safety and assurance. Due to the absence of Rh proteins in the golden blood group, it will not cause haemolysis (breakdown of blood cells). Thus, this blood group can save lives when blood transfusions are necessary, such as medical emergencies. Hence, it is called the golden blood group.
Although this blood type has been found in the bodies of 45 people worldwide, just nine can donate it. It means the remaining 36 individuals with the golden blood group can either not donate their blood or are unprepared to do so. In this case, the worth of one drop of this blood group's blood can be considered more than one gram of gold. This reason further justifies the name golden blood group!