WEBVTT - Do Other Animals Have Blood Types Too?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren vogal bomb here. We tend to think

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<v Speaker 1>about our blood type when we give blood or get

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<v Speaker 1>a blood transfusion, or when we explore blood type personality

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<v Speaker 1>theories for fun or fat diets. So, depending on your

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<v Speaker 1>personal habits, your consideration of blood types or blood groups

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<v Speaker 1>as scientists do refer to them, might range from rarely

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<v Speaker 1>ever to pretty much all the time. But how much

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<v Speaker 1>do other animals think about their blood types? Well, presumably never,

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<v Speaker 1>given what we know about animal cognition, But we humans

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<v Speaker 1>do think about other animals because sometimes our animals receive

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<v Speaker 1>blood transfusions too, and we want to make sure the

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<v Speaker 1>blood that we're giving a ferret or a dog or

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<v Speaker 1>parakeet doesn't cause blood incompatibility reaction. That's a negative reaction

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<v Speaker 1>causing the recipient's immune system to attack foreign blood producing

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<v Speaker 1>antibodies against the red blood cell proteins or antigens in

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<v Speaker 1>the donated blood. Although all animals have blood groups, every

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<v Speaker 1>species has a different system, and we know the most

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<v Speaker 1>about the systems of domesticated mammals. The human blood group

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<v Speaker 1>system is based on three different antigens A, B, and O.

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<v Speaker 1>The possible blood types we could have are A, B,

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<v Speaker 1>A B, and O, and each one of these can

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<v Speaker 1>be either r H positive or negative. Type O negative

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<v Speaker 1>blood is generally considered to be universally accepted by any

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<v Speaker 1>other blood type, and type A B positive can receive

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<v Speaker 1>any other type. Dogs, for their part, have more than

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<v Speaker 1>eight different antigens that can attach to their red blood cells,

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<v Speaker 1>most of them labeled dog a wreth site antigen. Those

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<v Speaker 1>eight types are d E A one point one, one

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<v Speaker 1>point to three, four, five, six, and seven. Often individuals

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<v Speaker 1>within a specific breed of dog will have the same

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<v Speaker 1>blood type. For instance, sixt of greyhounds fall into the

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<v Speaker 1>D E A one point one negative blood group the

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<v Speaker 1>universal dog donor, but new canine blood groups are still

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<v Speaker 1>being detected. The recently discovered dal blood group, for example,

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<v Speaker 1>is only found in Dalmatians. Caps, on the other hand,

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<v Speaker 1>have only two possible antigens A and B, though they

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<v Speaker 1>aren't the same antigens A and B found on human blood.

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<v Speaker 1>There is no universal donor or recipient feline blood groups,

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<v Speaker 1>but the vast majority around of domestic cats have type

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<v Speaker 1>A blood, while purebreads are often type B. A B

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<v Speaker 1>is also possible but very rare. Like dogs, horse blood

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<v Speaker 1>groups are loosely organized along breed lines, but there are

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<v Speaker 1>thirty different groups and they represent combinations of eight different antigens. A, C, D, K, P, Q,

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<v Speaker 1>and U are internationally recognized, while T is still being researched. Cows, meanwhile,

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<v Speaker 1>are tricky because there are eleven major blood groups A, B, C, F, J, L, M, R, S, T,

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<v Speaker 1>and Z, but the B group alone includes over sixty

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<v Speaker 1>different antigens, making blood matches for transfusions tough. No one

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<v Speaker 1>is entirely sure why different blood types exist, though in

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<v Speaker 1>humans and other animals, it's thought to have to do

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<v Speaker 1>with evolutionary selection regarding disease immunity, since we do know

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<v Speaker 1>that we inherit our blood antigens from our parents. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode was written by Jesselyn Shields and produced by Tyler Clang.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and lots of other curious topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit how stuffworks dot com. Brain Stuff is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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