What is the New Blood Type?
Recent research has unveiled several new blood groups or variations within existing systems, solving long-standing mysteries and advancing our understanding of blood transfusion compatibility. There isn't one single "new blood type," but rather several discoveries.
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MAL Blood Group: This discovery solved a 50-year-old mystery surrounding the AnWj blood group antigen. Researchers from NHS Blood and Transplant (Bristol), NHSBT's International Blood Group Reference Laboratory (IBGRL), and the University of Bristol identified the genetic basis of AnWj, revealing a new blood group system designated MAL. [Source: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2024/september/blood-group.html]
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Er Blood Group System: Scientists from the University of Bristol and NHS Blood & Transplant (NHSBT) discovered rare variations within this system, Er4 and Er5. While extremely rare, these variations are implicated in certain blood incompatibility cases, particularly between pregnant mothers and fetuses. [Source: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2022/september/er-blood.html, https://www.wired.com/story/new-blood-types/]
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SARA Antigen: The International Society for Blood Transfusion officially recognized the SARA antigen as a new blood group. [Source: https://www.lifeblood.com.au/news-and-stories/trending-research/solving-rare-blood-type-mysteries]
Significance of these Discoveries:
These discoveries improve our ability to:
- Resolve transfusion complications: Understanding these new blood groups helps ensure safer and more compatible blood transfusions.
- Diagnose and manage pregnancy complications: Identifying incompatibility between a mother and fetus's blood groups can prevent complications during pregnancy.
- Advance blood group research: These discoveries contribute to a deeper understanding of the human blood group system, opening up new avenues for research and development.
These are not the only new blood groups ever discovered; the field is constantly evolving. The H antigen, for example, was described as a "new blood group character" as far back as 1952. [Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2268/]
