This is why people with O- blood are called universal blood donors. O-: Only 6.6 percent of Americans have O negative blood, and they can donate to people of all blood types. population has this blood type.ī+: This blood type can be given to people with B+ and AB+ blood, and 8.5 percent of Americans have it. People with O+ blood can give blood to anyone who has a positive blood type.Ī+: People with A positive blood can donate to people with A+ and AB+ blood, and 35.7 percent of the U.S. because 37.4 percent of Americans have it. O+: This is called O positive, and it’s the most common blood type in the U.S. They’re listed from the most common to the least common type in the United States: Here are the eight different blood types and what they mean. And most people have one of these eight blood types.

The presence or absence of A and B antigens and the Rh antigen make eight blood types. If it doesn’t have the Rh antigen, it’s called negative. If your blood has the Rh antigen, your blood type is called positive.

However, only two are the most common: A antigen and B antigen.īlood types are also classified by another antigen called Rh factor. Humans can have more than 600 different types of antigens in their blood. How many different blood types are there? You might need a blood transfusion if you’ve had a serious injury or surgery, or if you have a blood disease. The classification system for naming blood types was created so that people can have safe blood transfusions. So, the type of antigens your mother and father have combine to determine what blood type you have. And you get your antigens from your parents. The types of antigens that are in your blood determine your blood type. Antibodies live in plasma, which is the liquid part of your blood that red blood cells float in. Antigens live on the surface of red blood cells. Your blood has proteins in it called antigens and antibodies. First of all, why are there different blood types? Read on to discover the most common blood types and an easy way you can find out your blood type. To successfully get a blood transfusion, people need to receive blood of a compatible type. This led Karl Landsteiner, a scientist from Austria, to discover that there are different blood types in humans. However, many people were dying from blood transfusions.

Before 1901, doctors thought that blood was the same in all people.

Percent of o negative blood type