All to know about the blood group matching table for marriage

Having matching blood types will come in handy when you or your partner need blood transfusions, especially in emergencies. 

If your blood types are incompatible, you will be unable to donate or receive blood from your partner because donation between mismatching blood types will lead to potentially fatal reactions. 

If matching blood is not obtained and transfused on time, it can lead to death. In developing and underdeveloped countries, for instance, it may not be easy to access blood banks or get a matching blood type right away to treat your spouse.

This is why it is important for couples or intending couples to know their blood types and then study the blood group matching table for marriage to gain more insight into who they can donate or receive blood from. 

The ABO blood group system divides blood types into 4 (A, B, AB, and O). However, the rhesus factor blood group system further divides it into 8 (A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-, O+ and O-), depending on the absence (RhD-negative) or presence (RhD-positive) of the RhD antigen. 

You are healthy whether you have or do not have the RhD antigen present.

With that said, here are some facts you should know about your blood and blood type:

• The average adult has about 5 liters of blood; however, women tend to have a lower blood volume than men.
• About 89-95% of blood donors worldwide are reportedly RhD-positive.
• The most common blood group in Nigeria is blood group O, while blood group AB is the rarest blood group in Nigeria.
• AB- is the rarest blood type in the U.S.
• Blood type O is known as “universal blood donor” because people with the other three blood types can receive blood type O.
• Blood type AB is known as “universal blood recipient” because people with this blood type can also receive blood from the other three blood types.
• ABO and rhesus factor are not the only blood group systems; the international society of blood transfusion recognizes about 43 blood group systems.
• The Nigerian National Blood Transfusion Service has 17 blood donation centers across the 6 geo-political zones.

Below are blood group matching tables that show compatible and incompatible blood group types.

The table below shows the antigens and antibodies present in each blood type.

To further explain the blood group matching table for marriage attached above:

• A person with blood type A can only receive blood from a spouse with blood type A or O and can only donate to a spouse with blood type A or AB
• A person with blood type B can only receive blood from a spouse with blood type B or O and can only donate to a spouse with blood type B or AB
• A person with blood type AB can receive blood from a spouse with blood type A, B, AB, or O and can only donate to blood type AB
• A person with blood O can only receive blood from a spouse with blood type O and can donate to blood types A, B, AB, and O

Also, Rh-positive people can receive blood from both Rh-positive and Rh-negative people. But, people that are Rh-negative can only receive from Rh-negative blood types.

So, to be able to donate blood to your partner, you two must have matching blood types.  

Different cross-sectional studies have been conducted to ascertain the prevalence of the different blood group types. 

A 2017 study that studied ABO blood group distribution in Ethiopia found that majority of the participants had blood type O (41.20%), followed by blood type A (34.96%), Blood type B (20.48%), and lastly, blood type AB (3.34%).

Similarly, the Stamford School of Medicine reported the distribution of blood types among adults:

• 35.7% of the adult population have blood type A+
• 6.3% of the adult population have blood type A-
• 8.5% of the adult population have blood type B+
• 1.5% of the adult population have the blood type B-
• 3.4% of the adult population have blood type AB+
• 0.6% of the adult population have blood type AB-
• 37.4% of the adult population have blood type O+
• 6.6% of the adult population have blood type O-

Blood group types can also affect marriages when it comes to pregnancy because when an RhD-negative mother and an RhD-positive father give birth to an RhD-positive baby that inherited the RhD antigen from the father, it can cause complications. 

This is because red blood cells from the RhD-positive baby can cross over to the mother’s bloodstream through the placenta and trigger immune system reactions in which the mother’s immune system forms antibodies against the RhD antigen from the baby.

The first baby will not be affected, but in subsequent pregnancies or babies that are RhD-positive, the already-formed antibodies will attack the baby's red blood cells. This can lead to hemolytic anemia, jaundice, and liver failure.  

Studying the blood group matching table for marriage helps you know if your blood type matches your spouse's blood type. 

However, incompatible blood types shouldn’t be a huge deal breaker as many couples live through their lifetimes without experiencing emergency health issues that require a blood transfusion. 

If your blood group is not compatible with your spouse’s and you are concerned about who to donate blood to you or your spouse in emergency cases, this strategy may work: you can ask close friends and relatives about their blood groups so you know which of them has a matching blood type that can be reached out to in emergency cases.