“Golden Blood”- Now What is that!

Golden blood is the nickname of rarest blood type on earth, blood type Rh-null. That means it lacks all of the 61 possible antigens in the Rh system. It is said that less than 50 people alone have this blood group in the world. Indeed a rare group. Truth is until 1961, doctors assumed that if a  person lack all Rh antigens, they would never survive the nine months in the womb.

It is considered golden blood, not just because it’s rare but it can be accepted by anyone with a rare blood type within the Rh system, which makes it very relevant from life-saving capability. The fact that it is so rare, makes it incredibly important to science and medicine. But for a person with this blood group, it is very dangerous to live with. If a person with golden blood needs a transfusion, they will have look for a donor across the globe, which is a very tedious process and expensive too.

Is Golden Blood the only rare group ?

The answer is NO. On the surface of every red blood cell, there is a possibility to find 342 antigens. It is the presence or absence of particular antigens that determine a persons blood type. Some 160 of the 342 blood group antigens are ‘high-prevalence’, that means, they are found on the red blood cells of most people. If a person lacks an antigen that 99 percent of people in the world are positive for, then that person is considered rare and if a person lacks an antigen 99.99 people have then, that person is having extremely rare blood type. Bombay Blood group is one such group that is extremely rare. It is found 4 in one million and was discovered in Mumbai in 1952.

What it means by being Rh-null

The 342 antigens are grouped into 35 blood group system. One blood group system from this 35, is Rh. The Rh group has 61 proteins within it. A person who is Rh-null or Golden Blood will lack all of the 61 antigens in the Rh system.

Is Rh-null and Rh-negative mean the same?

Rh null is the absence of the entire 61 Rh antigens like C,c, D, E,e, etc whereas Rh negative only means the D antigen is missing

Can people with Golden Blood lead a normal life ?

People with Golden Blood type can lead a normal life, can marry and have babies, except that they can be little anemic. Since their blood group is so rare, they need to be little careful and try not to run into accidents and injuries. Also, it’s advisable for them to not to travel to countries prone to epidemics and those that don’t have modern medical facilities.