# Do I need to know my child's blood type?



## SpringRain (Nov 19, 2001)

Since I'm A+ I didn't need to have the kids tested at birth like people who are rhesus negative do, so I don't know what my kids' blood types are. I can narrow it down on my girls since my husband is O+ but my son was adopted, we have no way of even guessing what his type might be. Is there any reason, other than the fact that I'm curious, that I should know this information?

(It does seem weird not to know because my mom was rhesus negative and so my siblings and I were tested at birth and always knew what our type was.)

I was goofing around google and found a pretty cheap home testing kit to find out but don't know if it's worth traumatizing my kids by poking their fingers to find out. Thoughts??


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## pianojazzgirl (Apr 6, 2006)

I imagine at this point in their lives the only reason you'd need to know is in some sort of emergency scenario where they'd need a blood transfusion (may that never happen!). But maybe even in that case they could test in the ER? I'm not sure if it's worth the finger prick or not. Come to think of it I don't know my kids' blood types and no dr has ever suggested I find out.


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## lilyka (Nov 20, 2001)

the test literally takes seconds. in an emergancy they can do it almost instantly. there really is no reason to know now other than curiosity. I think my ped does it if they are already drawing blood for something and records it in their chart but otherwise I have no idea what my children are. I am O+ .....


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## Honey693 (May 5, 2008)

I didn't know my blood type until after labor when I saw it written on my discharge papers.


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## rightkindofme (Apr 14, 2008)

It's kind of random, but there is a way to find out if your kid(s) share your blood type or your partners without your kid having to shed any blood. If you spill a little bit of your blood on a piece of cloth then you can let your kid spit on the blood. A persons saliva can dissolve blood of the same blood type only. This is a very handy trick because my husband, daughter, and I all have the same blood type so we can spit on one another's blood stains.







(This is a really handy trick actually. I swear. I'm not just weird.)


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## becoming (Apr 11, 2003)

No. Medical personnel will type & cross your child's blood before doing any sort of transfusion, even in a dire emergency.


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## calpurnia (Sep 26, 2004)

anyone else remember the character in the _anastasia krupnik_ series who had a blood type tattooed on her bottom? branded b+ for life!


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## GoestoShow (Jul 15, 2009)

.


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## SpringRain (Nov 19, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *GoestoShow* 
If your child ever has blood drawn for any other reason, the type will probably be automatically tested.

You know, I though that was true too but my son had EXTENSIVE blood work when he arrived home from Ethiopia and they didn't type him. My oldest has also had blood work in the ER and wasn't tested. I think that I'll just rein in my curiosity and maybe I'll find out someday... I think this is the only time I've been jealous that my sister is Rh-; she knows all her kids' types.

Thanks for the opinions!


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## lindberg99 (Apr 23, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SpringRain* 
You know, I though that was true too but my son had EXTENSIVE blood work when he arrived home from Ethiopia and they didn't type him. My oldest has also had blood work in the ER and wasn't tested. I think that I'll just rein in my curiosity and maybe I'll find out someday... I think this is the only time I've been jealous that my sister is Rh-; she knows all her kids' types.

Thanks for the opinions!









My son was a preemie and in the hospital and they were always checking his blood for something but they never typed it either. It must be something that is so fast to do, they only do it if a blood transfusion is needed. (Which thankfully my DS didn't need.)

I think if you want to do it, why not order the kit? My DH is diabetic and he's checked our 9 yo DS's blood sugar a few times and DS didn't mind getting his finger pricked. Your children might be kind of interested in seeing the results, especially if you do yours first.


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## elmh23 (Jul 1, 2004)

I don't know my kids blood type and I am okay with that. I didn't know my own blood type until I got pregnant with my first and my husband has no clue about what type he is.

The only person I know who knows their kid's blood type is my sister-in-law. But her daughter was born really early (28wks) and really small (1lb. 8oz.) and needed several blood transfusions. Thankfully SIL's husband was a match.


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## hedgehogs4 (Aug 22, 2008)

No, you do not need to know your child's blood type. If a patient ever needs a transfusion they are typed and crossmatched - this lab work must be done within 24 hours of the transfusion - so if you are in the hospital for a week and need several transfusions you would need this done more than once. So, it may be nice to know just to know but medically speaking you must do this blood work. In an emergency situation there are units available that are universally transfusible but these are used only in extreme situations such as if a person can't wait the hour to be typed and matched - if they are hemorrhaging uncontrollably or something....

So, in short, no you do not need to know.


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## Quinalla (May 23, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *becoming* 
No. Medical personnel will type & cross your child's blood before doing any sort of transfusion, even in a dire emergency.

Yup this, so even if you do know, they will still be retested. So except for curiosity sake, it isn't necessary to know. I actually know this girl and all our children will be O-, but that's because both DH and I are and O & - are both recessive.


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## LROM (Sep 10, 2008)

So for those of you who gave birth in hospitals, they didn't tell you at your child's birth or put it in their birth records what blood type?

I knew within the first couple hours of her birth her blood type and just assumed it's something they always test and record for?

Or was that info around originally but it's not the kind of thing you remember, especially after multiple births and just the busy-ness of parenting?


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## ernalala (Mar 30, 2008)

In the country I live in it may be very handy and worthwhile if as many people as possible know their own blood type. In case of much needed blood transfusions (planned or unexpected surgery, or other emergency) relatives of the patient may be looking for people with the same bloodtype to help out. So the more people you address who know their own bloodtype, the more the chance of succes to find possible donors. And in case of networking for needed transfusions, if you are informed about blood types of other people in your environment, and them in their turn about those in THEIR environment, may save precious time and effort in the search for blood.
Also, regarding random blood donation it is good to know your blood type, sometimes there may be calls for certain blood types of which hospitals/health organisations do not have enough in 'stock' (or they are already in serious need for those), and if they for instance urgently need more of a type like B Rh- it's a good thing that possible donors know they are able to donate this particular blood type. And any other blood type is always very wanted for donations anyway.
For such things, I am very glad to know my own and my family member's blood types.

I guess that in emergencies, even if blood type is already known/ provided, it's being tested/double checked quickly to be able to do transfusions nowadays.

We both have always known our own blood types and our kids' blood types, which we learned at birth. It was good to know since their jaundice was a seldom incompatible blood type related kind (was not rhesus related, another kind) and just by knowing the blood types in our family, the type of jaundice they suffered from could be assessed immediately and the drs. could conclude this just by looking at all our blood types in the file. And we knew with the birth of our second child that him having a certain blood type would make the risk of having this same condition very high, and so on with possible subsequent siblings.

I do not think there is any harm for the parents/children to own this info for themselves apart from it being written their medical files .

Here a dr. always asks a patients his/her blood type. Maybe because there's no overall system where you have just one medical file, each dr. (office/department) you visit has his/her own file health file of yours with specific complaints you consulted them about. So here it's just a thing necessary for the record. And it would be silly if each and every dr. would have you (re-)tested for your blood type 'just for the file'.

If you're really curious or you would really like to know, you might ask to determine your/your child's blood type next time a blood draw is done. But I wouldn't do an unnecessary blood draw/prick just for this unless there is a good reason you think you should know (like one of the above).


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## becoming (Apr 11, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LROM* 
So for those of you who gave birth in hospitals, they didn't tell you at your child's birth or put it in their birth records what blood type?

I knew within the first couple hours of her birth her blood type and just assumed it's something they always test and record for?

Or was that info around originally but it's not the kind of thing you remember, especially after multiple births and just the busy-ness of parenting?

The hospital where we deliver puts the baby's & mother's blood types on one of the discharge papers they send home with you from the hospital, but unless you're the type to peruse every line of every piece of paperwork (which I am







), you'd probably never see it. It's just one little blank with "B+" or whatever written in by a nurse. My sons are both O+, DD (who has a different father than the boys) is B+, I'm A+, and I assume DH is O+ since the boys are.


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## funkymamajoy (May 25, 2008)

I'm A- and DH is O- (we've donated blood and they tell you). So, if my high school biology is right, then the kids are all O- (right?).

But I can't think of a reason why I would _need_ to know. In an emergency, they'd be given O- until they could be typed. The ER wouldn't take my work for it, the consequences of giving someone the wrong blood type are too great.

However, I do think its good to know as much as you can about your kids' health.


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## funkymamajoy (May 25, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LROM* 
So for those of you who gave birth in hospitals, they didn't tell you at your child's birth or put it in their birth records what blood type?


*shrug* I don't think I ever thought to look. And, if I did, then I forgot.


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## JamesMama (Jun 1, 2005)

Nope, no real reason. I'm fairly sure I know my kids because I know mine and I know DH's (kidney transplant). He's O+, I'm O+ so I'm guessing the kids are both O+ and by all rights the +/- only matters when you're pregnant, we could have used a donor from O- it wouldn't have mattered.


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## dachshund mom (Dec 28, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *funkymamajoy* 
I'm A- and DH is O- (we've donated blood and they tell you). So, if my high school biology is right, then the kids are all O- (right?).


No. DH is O+ and I'm A+ and DD is A+. She could have been O or A.

Our midwife told us DD's blood type. It was part of that standard PKU testing packet she did at birth. Weird that most people don't know their types. Don't y'all donate blood??


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *becoming* 
The hospital where we deliver puts the baby's & mother's blood types on one of the discharge papers they send home with you from the hospital, but unless you're the type to peruse every line of every piece of paperwork (which I am







), you'd probably never see it. It's just one little blank with "B+" or whatever written in by a nurse. My sons are both O+, DD (who has a different father than the boys) is B+, I'm A+, and I assume DH is O+ since the boys are.

I wish they did that here but they didnt even give me discharge papers. Just a few pamphlets on baby care. I have no idea what either of my kids types are. DD had blood work twice daily for 4 days in the hospital for jaundice and they never typed her to my knowledge.


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## lilyka (Nov 20, 2001)

thats really cool about the spit!!! We typed out blood in middle school life science class. if you can find a kit it might be a fun experiment for your kids to do. You start with blood. add the shemical and if it does this it is A if it does that it is B if it does both it is AB and if it does nothing it is O. it was a lot of fun. and isnce we did it in 7th grade it couldn't have been too expensive or complicated....


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## ernalala (Mar 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *funkymamajoy* 
I'm A- and DH is O- (we've donated blood and they tell you). So, if my high school biology is right, then the kids are all O- (right?).

They can be either A or O.
Eg, I have O+, Dh A+ and both kids are A+.

You find more on possible combinations here:

http://www.canadiancrc.com/Paternity...lood_type.aspx


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## bjorker (Jul 25, 2005)

Good to know. I don't even know what mine is.


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## BunniMummi (Jan 28, 2005)

I'm rh- and I don't know my kids types. I didn't find out I was O- until I got pregnant and they tested. For the kids I know they are both positive (since I had to get shots both times) but other than that I have no clue. I am a little curious though.


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## ernalala (Mar 30, 2008)

I remember when at school we learned about blood types and we were all asked ours, and everybody new, and we had a very rare ab_ in class, and the teacher was so excited about it, lol.

Both of my parents studied/did lab hematology so they were very knowledgeable of blood-related topics and maybe that's partly why it was so normal in our family to know our blood types. They also did regular blood donation and we always went with them, so it was very normal thing for us. But I think in Belgium everyone just knows their blood type, also nowadays.

I REALLY want to donate blood again but also want to be healthy/strong enough again to do so. And my kids 'misbehave' in public so I can't see my tied to a chair while donating with them creating trouble or running way... Also have trouble with iron defficiency/anemia once in a while. Scared of hygiene in the country where I live now, regarding needles (should check about this properly). And donating plasma really made me SICK to vomiting every time I tried, so never again. But I feel the need to donate blood so I'm sure at some point I will be able to do this again.


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## Noelle C. (Sep 3, 2009)

I've had many transfusions. It helped to know my dad and I were the same type so I could get blood from him. It helps to know my fiance and I are the same, so if I need it, I can get it from him. I'd rather get blood from someone I know than a stranger (even with all the testing done on it), and knowing type helps with lining up people I know ahead of time.

If you never have a reason to expect a transfusion, you don't need to know, but it can never hurt to know either.


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## funkymamajoy (May 25, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ernalala* 
They can be either A or O.
Eg, I have O+, Dh A+ and both kids are A+.

You find more on possible combinations here:

http://www.canadiancrc.com/Paternity...lood_type.aspx

Interesting, biology was never my best class.


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## moaningminny (Dec 31, 2007)

Blood typing is only usually done in emergency situations or if you're preparing for surgery.

Even if someone had "extensive bloodwork", there would still probably be no reason to include a typing in that.

I don't know my kid's either, and don't really care one way or the other, if it's needed to be known it will be found out.


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## WC_hapamama (Sep 19, 2005)

With my kids, we know that they're either A+ or B+, as DH is O+ and I'm AB+. Oldest DS is B+, they typed him at birth, but only because I didn't know DH's blood type at the time.


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## JamesMama (Jun 1, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ernalala* 
You find more on possible combinations here:

http://www.canadiancrc.com/Paternity...lood_type.aspx

My kids MUST be O, figured as much...just wondered about the + vs - not that it matters because my dad is O- my mom is O+ but my brother and I are both O+.


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

In a true emergency, nobody's going to run a type & crossmatch before blood is given. O negative blood is the "universal donor" blood type, and that's what's in the coolers of 'emergency blood' in a hospital/trauma center.

Nobody will even ask you what type you are. Blood cannot be given on the basis of a verbal report. An ED would have to run a type and screen/crossmatch before they would give you type-specific blood. Until then, it's O negative for the females and either O negative or positive for the males (though many places just have a blanket O neg policy across the board).


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## cschick (Aug 28, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *dachshund mom* 
No. DH is O+ and I'm A+ and DD is A+. She could have been O or A.

Our midwife told us DD's blood type. It was part of that standard PKU testing packet she did at birth. Weird that most people don't know their types. Don't y'all donate blood??

I have tried to donate blood twice in my life. Both times I failed at donation (fainted and threw up). I don't think they ever typed that blood: I was told both times that they'd put my type on my donor card when they sent it to me, but they never sent me a donor card.


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