One theory is that because the immune systems of people with Type O blood already have antibodies for both A and B, their bodies are more equipped to identify foreign proteins-including those on the surface of viruses. Individuals with Type AB have both A and B antigens on their red cells, but neither on their plasma, and those with Type O have neither A nor B antigens on their red cells, but both antibodies are present on their plasma. A person with Type A blood has the A antigen on red cells and a B antibody on their plasma a person with Type B has the B antigen on red cells and A antibodies on their plasma.
“Also, there are some theories about how some of these ABO genes, based on the protein they’re encoding, might affect some of the receptors where the virus binds and can alter how someone becomes more or less susceptible to the virus.”Ī person’s blood type is determined by the presence or absence of specific antigens-A and B-which are molecules on red blood cells that trigger an immune response. “We have different antibody profiles based on our ABO blood type,” Li said. Scientists do not know exactly why blood type could influence a person’s susceptibility to these viruses, but authors of the NEJM paper suggest that variations in biologic mechanisms in ABO blood groups may play a role, specifically in their immune response.
That study also found an association between ABO blood groups and disease susceptibility, with individuals with Type O less susceptible to that virus, as well. If it holds, he said, the conclusion would follow results from a 2005 study published in JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association) examining SARS-CoV-1-the “original” SARS virus that created an outbreak in 2003. Still, Li said, the data suggests that a connection may exist. So, it’s hard to know if it’s an increased susceptibility to infection or a severity question.” It’s comparing the severe COVID patients versus everyone else without COVID. “The cases are not a study of all COVID patients versus all non-COVID patients, and it’s not a study of all severe COVID patients versus all non-severe COVID patients. “I do believe there is likely a connection, and the question is: What does this word ‘outcome’ mean?” said Ang Li, M.D., an assistant professor of hematology and oncology at Baylor College of Medicine. Yet inherent limitations of the NEJM study mean it’s too soon to definitively link blood type to COVID-19 outcomes. Study participants were spread throughout seven hospitals in the Italian and Spanish epicenters of the pandemic and each were defined as having “severe” respiratory disease those patients were compared to approximately 2,000 healthy individuals.īased on the early data and despite the relatively small sample size, the study corroborates other reports, including one from Wuhan, China, where the SARS-CoV-2 virus outbreak originated. Looking for the latest on the CORONAVIRUS? Read our daily updates HERE. “Our genetic data confirm that blood group O is associated with a risk of acquiring Covid-19 that was lower than that in non-O blood groups, whereas blood group A was associated with a higher risk than non-A blood groups,” researchers concluded. Researchers studied 1,610 COVID-19 positive patients with respiratory failure. Blood type may play a key role in determining who contracts COVID-19 and how severe the illness becomes, according to a recent report published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
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