What blood type are you? That question usually results in a response of A, B, AB or O. Then maybe a positive or negative, also called the rhesus factor. However, researchers have now identified another elusive blood group after a 50 year mystery.
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00:00What blood type are you?
00:05That question usually results in a response of A, B, AB, or O, and then maybe a positive
00:11or negative, also called the rhesus factor.
00:13However, researchers have now identified another elusive blood group after a 50-year mystery.
00:19Back in 1972, doctors noticed that a pregnant woman was missing a particular surface molecule
00:24on her red blood cells.
00:25While ABO blood groups are the largest categories for blood, there are also other varying blood
00:29groups associated with these very surface molecules.
00:32They include myriad proteins and sugars, and they are used by the cells as antigens, among
00:37other uses.
00:38These are the reason why blood donor types must match those receiving transfusions, as
00:42if they don't, the antigen molecules will attack the incoming blood.
00:45Experts say that 99.9% of humans have blood that shares the ANWJ antigen, which is why
00:51the recently discovered one went unidentified for so long.
00:54They are now calling it the malgene, and it occurs due to a couple of mutations.
00:58The cell biologists saying that they had to pursue multiple lines of investigation
01:02to accumulate enough proof to determine it was in fact the new blood group.
01:06This involved another discovery as well, finding that newborn babies do not have the ANWJ antigen
01:11at birth, and that it develops later.