Despite the high risk of infection, it often happens that only one partner at home gets corona. Very strange, because you can easily get corona from someone from the supermarket, but you don’t get it from your partner with whom you share the bed. Research shows that this may have to do with your blood type.
Connection between corona and blood group
One research from the University of Nantes, published in the magazine Frontiers of Microbiology, shows possible links between the blood group and a corona infection. More than 300 hospital employees were interviewed for this study. In addition to their blood type, they also had to indicate whether their housemates had become infected and if so, who was the first to have corona.
Give or receive blood
After analyzing this data, the researchers found that coronavirus infection was most common in partners where both blood types were ‘compatible’. In the diagram below we explain which blood group is compatible with each other. ‘… is compatible with …’ actually means that you can donate blood to the other blood group with that blood group. If you and your partner have a blood group that is not compatible with each other, there is a good chance that you will not get corona from each other.
- Blood group O- is compatible with: 0-, 0+, B-, B+, A-, A+, AB-, AB+
- Blood group O+ is compatible with: 0+, B+, A+, AB+
- Blood group B- is compatible with: B-, B+, AB-, AB+
- Blood group B+ is compatible with: B+, AB+
- Blood group A- is compatible with: A-, A+, AB-, AB+
- Blood group A+ is compatible with: A+, AB+
- Blood group AB- is compatible with: AB-, AB+
- Blood group AB+ is compatible with: AB+
Corona and blood group O
What can be concluded from this is that people with blood group O will not easily become infected. They cannot receive blood from someone with blood group A, B or AB. You don’t see the letter O behind those blood groups. As a result, they generally have a lower risk of infection because almost no one’s blood is compatible with theirs.
Super Diffusers
However, people with blood group O negative must be very careful if they do become infected. This is a special blood group. Only 7% of the Dutch population has this blood and it has a special quality. Anyone can receive this blood through a blood transfusion, regardless of his or her own blood type. People with blood group O negative can transmit the virus to anyone and thus become super spreaders.
What keeps donate blood right in and is it scary? Libelle’s Kim takes you during her blood donation in the video below:
Source: Frontiers of Microbiology