Rarest Blood Type

Every hospital is in need of blood donors, from O+ to the rarest blood type. In fact, if you were to donate blood from 17 years of age every 56 days until you were 76, you could potentially save more than a 1,000 lives! Here’s a quick rundown of all the different types of blood, from the rarest to the most common. There are only eight blood type combinations.

1. O+ About 37 percent of the population is O+, making it the furthest from the rarest blood type. Type O+ is part of the universal donor group the O group. O+ can be transfused with all other blood types and, of course, itself. O blood types are needed the most by hospitals because it can be transfused to all other blood types.
2. A+ About 33 percent of the population is A+.This blood type can be transfused to other A and AB blood types. It only takes one A type donor to save the lives of three people with one generous donation of their blood.
3. B+ Only 9 percent of the population is B+. Like the A type, people with type B blood can only donate to other B and AB types. When a B type donor donates their blood, they donate one pint out of the ten pints they hold in their bodies.
4. O- 8 percent of people have O- blood in their bodies. O- is considered the best blood type to give blood. While all of the types in the O group are universal donors, the O- is the least likely to be rejected for red cell transfusions.
5. A- Seven percent of people have A- blood type, which is getting pretty close to the rarest blood type. A- can be transfused with A and AB. A- means that it is a part of the A group and it’s missing the Rh factor. A positive (+) blood type means Rh is present, while a negative (-) blood type means the Rh is absent.
6. AB+ About 3 percent of the population is AB+. This blood type is special, because AB+ is a universal plasma donor. AB means that the two antigens are located on the red bloods cells and not in the plasma. The absence of antigens in the plasma means that the plasma can go to all the other blood types.  
7. B- Two percent of the people you see have B- blood, making it the second rarest blood type. B- can be donated to other B and AB blood types. Even though B- is one of the rarest blood types it can still receive transfusions from the O group.
8. AB- is the rarest blood type with only 1 percent of the population walking around with it. AB blood is rare because of the way our genes are passed down. Even if both the parents are AB blood types there is only a 33 percent chance the child will be AB. Every parent blood combination that can make AB blood cannot make O type. Every parent blood combination that can make O type blood cannot make AB type blood.