Blood Group and Genotype

HERE IS ALL TO KNOW ABOUT BLOOD GROUPS AND THEIR GENOTYPES.

Genotype is simply the genetic makeup of an individual or the DNA sequence of a person.A few steps to understand blood groups include;

Recessive gene:refers to a gene that cannot express itself in another gene.An example is blood group O

Dominant gene:this is a gene that can express itself in the presence of another gene.An example is Blood group A or B.

Co -dominant: this refers to genes that can express themselves when they are combined together.

Blood groups come in four main types;O,A,B,AB.Every individual is a mixture of both mother and father same applied to blood groups.so if someone is blood group A,it means that either both parents are AA or have AA in their blood groups or one of them has A and the other has blood groups O.That is why someone with blood groups A has genotype AA or AO same applies to blood group B,then we have blood group AB it means either parent has A and then B.Then finally blood group O which means either parent must have O.

A B O. BLOOD GROUPS SYSTEMS

Genotype refers to what you inherited from your parents and phenotype refers to what you actually show.Example if a child comes out looking more like mom than Dad it means mom's genes were more dominant.Assuming an individual receives a gene of A from parent 1 and then received an O from parent 2 your blood group will be blood group A(AO) what that means is that O is recessive it cannot express itself in the presence of the dominant gene (A).

Now Assuming,you received blood group O from parent 1 and another O from parent 2 your blood group will be (O) meaning your genotype is (OO) as they are both recessive.Again assuming you took blood group A from parent 1 and B from parent 2 then will have blood group AB and genotype AB as well because both AB are dominant genes (in order words they are co -dominating)

And then again,if you have blood group B from parent 1 and receive O from parent 2,we will have blood group B and phenotype being (BO)

Parents with blood group A and if in their genotype they have AA and BO genotypes,there is no way they can have a child with blood group O.

A can pair with B and give AB,Then A can pair with O which will give you AO which is the same as A.Then when A pairs with B it will give you AB same applies to A and O now the blood group becomes A.

The possibilities for blood group AO and BO are AB,AO,BO and OO.

RHESUS D POSITIVE AND RHESUS D NEGATIVE.

Rhesus D negative means you lack an antigen (specific protein) on the red blood cells or erythrocytes that help identify like an employee who wears an ID badge.(A,B,O) Is not the only blood group but there are others that are non existent for the RH group.most people have the Rh positive(RH+),those who lack it are Rhesus negative.The D antigen is recognized by the immune system attacks.This causes problems in blood transfusion and RH+ babies who have RH- Mothers.RH- mothers can get RHOGAM shots after blood matching is done to prevent harm from coming to the baby.Apart from complications during pregnancy,RH negative blood type groups is not harming.problems associated with Rhesus D negative is Jaundice,brain damage,illness and sometimes death of the child.

Although not scientifically proven,rhesus negative people are easily scared,their body can balance oxygen levels even at higher altitude.They have better resistance to diseases like HIV,smallpox, mosquito bites.

Whenever you see a blood group,you will see either a positive or negative next to the blood group that is the RHESUS D.

SICKLE CELL ANEMIA

It is a genetic condition,that is inherited where a person's regular cells begin to change to a different form.The shape of every red blood cell is like a concave meaning it is more like a round shape but with a sickle cell disease the shape is crescent like.Sickle cell Anemia happens when there is a mutation in the hemoglobin.The normal structure of hemoglobin consists of Alpha and Beta chains, people with sickle cell have problems with Alpha and Beta chains.

Here are a few symptoms of sickle cell Anemia;

1.Fatigue and weakness due to anemia (low red blood cell count).when there isn't enough red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body the person becomes anemic and can cause dizziness and lightheadedness

2.Episodes of severe pain that is sickle cell Crisis in the bone,chest,joint and abdomen.when sickle cells stick together and block oxygen flow in the tiny vessels in the lungs it may result in a sickle cell crisis.

3.priapism.It affects the sexual health as it causes persistent and unwanted erections that happen without sexual arousals.

4.Delayed growth in children as there are frequent infections due to impaired immune function.

5.Jaundice also known as the yellowing of the skin and eyes due to increased breakdown in red blood cells,also the feet and hands tend to swell.

6.Retinopathy.This may affect the retina which is the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eyes.This can damage the blood vessels in the retina and cause blurred vision,double vision,blind spots, distorted vision and even permanent blindness.

7.Sickle cell can also have diverse effects in the human body including kidney and heart failure, venous stasis ulcer, osteoporosis and cerebral hemorrhage.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

The best treatment options for sickle cell patients are; supportive care including rest, hydration and pain management during sickle cell episodes.

Medications like folic acid supplements to support red blood cells and pain relief medication like opioids.Also hydroxyurea to reduce the frequency of cell Crisis.

Blood transfusions to prevent complications and needed in complicated cases.

Bone marrow transplant may be considered in certain cases.