Can children be born if parents have different blood types? How to find out a child's blood type from the parent's Can the blood type be different from the parents?

The discovery of the existence of four blood groups was proven by scientists at the beginning of the twentieth century. What blood type will the child inherit?

While mixing blood serum taken from some people with red blood cells taken from other people, Karl Landsteiner discovered that when the red blood cells and serums are combined separately, they begin to “stick together” - the red blood cells are held together and clots form.

While studying how red blood cells are built, Landsteiner discovered substances of a special nature in them.

He divided them into A and B categories, and created a third, which included cells that did not contain special substances. A little time later, A. Sturli and A. Von Decastello, Landsteiner’s students, identified red blood cells that simultaneously contained markers of the A and B categories.

The result of research is the ABO system, according to which blood groups are divided. We still use it today.

  • I (0) - characterized by the absence of ant in A and B;
  • II (A) - the presence of antigen A is characteristic;
  • III (AB) - established in the presence of ant-B;
  • IV(AB) - is established in the presence of ant-in A and B.

This discovery helped eliminate losses during transfusions that occurred due to incompatibility of the patient’s blood with the donor’s blood. There are known cases of successful transfusion even before this discovery, for example, the case of a woman in labor. When she was infused with 250 ml of donor blood, she said, she felt life itself filling her body.

But until the beginning of the twenty-first century, the implementation of this kind of manipulation was rare, and was performed exclusively in emergency cases, at times causing more harm than good. Austrian scientists made a great discovery, thanks to which they significantly made blood transfusion procedures safer, which saved many lives.

The ABO system has completely changed the way scientists think about the nature of blood. Subsequently, genetic scientists proved the identity of the principles of obtaining a child’s blood type and the principles of obtaining other characteristics. The second half of the nineteenth century was marked by the fact that Mendel formulated these laws, guided by the results of experiments on peas, known to us through biology textbooks.

Child's blood type. What blood type will a child inherit according to Mendel?

  1. Mendel's laws state that parents with the first blood group will produce children without A- and B-types.
  2. If the husband and wife have the first and second, then the children will have the same blood types. The situation is similar with the first and third groups.
  3. People with the fourth group may have children with either the second, or the third, or the fourth, but not the first. In this case, the partner’s antigens have no effect.
  4. If the parents have the second and third groups, then the child’s group is absolutely impossible to predict. Their children can become owners of any group of four.
  5. But where without exceptions. There are people who have A and B ant in their phenotype, but they do not manifest themselves. Such cases are very rare, and often among Hindus, which is why they are called the “Bombay phenomenon.”

Rh factor inheritance

When a child with a negative Rh factor is born in a family of parents with a positive Rh factor, great surprise arises, and even sometimes mistrust in the form of reproaches and doubts about the honesty of the spouse. But there is a simple explanation for this problem.

Rh factor is an antigen (protein) located on the surface of erythrocytes, red blood cells. About 85% of people have this very Rh factor, that is, they are Rh positive. The remaining 15% who do not have it are Rh negative. These factors are denoted by the letters Rh, positive with a plus sign, negative with a minus sign. To study Rh, usually take one pair of genes.

DD or Dd is a positive Rh factor, and is a dominant trait, dd is negative, recessive.
If a couple has heterozygous Rhesus (Dd), then in 75% of cases their children will also have positive Rhesus, and 25% negative.

If parents have Dd x Dd factors, then their children will have DD, Dd, dd. Heterozygosity appears in a child as a result of the conflict of the mother’s Rh-negative factor, so to speak, and can be transmitted to many generations.

Determination of blood group and Rh factor:

What else can a child inherit?

For many centuries, parents have fantasized about what their child might be like. Today, thanks to ultrasound, you can look into the future and find out what gender the child will be, see the anatomical and physiological characteristics of the baby.

With the help of genetics, you can predict the color of a child’s eyes and hair, and the likelihood of having an ear for music. These traits are divided into dominant and recessive, and the probability of inheritance can be determined using Mendel’s laws. Dominant characteristics include brown eyes, curly hair, and the ability to curl the tongue into a tube. They have a very high probability of inheritance.

Unhappy, but also dominant signs are early baldness and graying, gaps between the front teeth, myopia.

Blue or gray eyes, straight hair, light skin, and an average ear for music are recessive traits that are less likely to be inherited.

What gender will the baby be?

For many centuries, a woman was responsible for the absence of an heir in the family. To achieve their goal, women had to go on diets and count the days to conceive.

Let's look at this situation from a scientific point of view. Eggs and sperm have 23 chromosomes (half set), 22 of which match the partner's sex cells. But the last pair does not match, the female pair is XX, and the male pair is XY.

Therefore, the sex of the unborn child depends on the set of chromosomes of the sperm that fertilized the egg. That is, the dad bears full responsibility for the sex of the baby!

How is blood type inherited?

Table: How a child’s blood type is inherited (dependence of the child’s blood type on the blood type of the mother and father)


Table 2. How the blood type of the Rh system is inherited (dependence of the rhesus of the child’s blood group on the rhesus of the father and mother)

The human body is a complex system. All organs, tissues and cells have their own function in the functioning of the body, and their coordinated work determines the state of human health. Blood is perhaps the most important of all organs.

Blood is a red liquid that connects tissues, circulating from the heart and to all parts of the human body, while providing vital processes. It transports gases, useful particles and microelements so that cellular exchange is correct and harmonious.

The heart pumps red fluid throughout the body, which in turn transports oxygen from the lungs and carbon dioxide back.

The structure of blood has two important components - the liquid part (plasma) and the formed elements contained in it (suspended cells). The latter include leukocytes, platelets, and erythrocytes. Red cells carry oxygen throughout the body and make up about 50% of all cells.

At the same time, the cells are filled with iron and capacious protein. Oxygen transfer is possible only in the presence of iron ions.

Hemoglobin is a family of proteins called “globin”, and the rest of the iron-containing part is called “heme”.

Age and body composition are the main parameters that determine the amount of blood in the human body. Its volume in an adult with a normal build is 4.5 -5 liters. The intensity of the color of the red liquid determines the percentage of oxygen.

AB0 system. Types of blood groups. Their role in conceiving a child

The AB0 system classifies red liquid. It was created by Karl Landsteiner, an Australian geneticist. Two types of people A and B took part in the research.

The professor and his team combined blood plasma (from people A) with red cells (from people B). Combinations were noted in which erythrocytes stuck together and lumps formed (agglutination), but in other variations this did not happen.

When studying the structure of red cells (erythrocytes) and conducting research, the geneticist isolated specific substances in them - antigens.

Antigens are divided into 3 classes, respectively: A and B and 0. Both, one of them, or neither can be present in human blood. This conditionality became the basis for its distribution into 4 groups:

  • Ⅰ (0) – AB antigens are absent (therefore, 0 in brackets)
  • Ⅱ (A) – there is antigen A
  • Ⅲ (B) – accordingly there is antigen B
  • Ⅳ (AB) – both antigens are present

The most common blood groups in people are the second and third blood groups, the rarest are the first and fourth.

In the 21st century, genetics has risen to a very high level. At the stage of planning and conceiving a baby, you can find out the child’s blood type; for this, the parents’ data is enough. The baby will take one of the genes from the father, and one from the mother.

Mendel's law

The AB0 system gave impetus to a more detailed study of the characteristics of blood. The next stage in the research confirmed scientists’ assumptions about the possibility of transferring genes and blood type from parents to baby. The Austrian biogeneticist Mendel, in the second half of the 19th century, classified this heredity.

According to Mendel's law, there are 5 groups:


Parents' blood type and its effect on the sex of the child

Let's consider possible variations:

  • The mother has Ⅰ (0), and the father Ⅰ (0) or Ⅲ (B) - the chances are 50% to 50%, there can be either a girl or a boy
  • Mom has Ⅱ (A), and dad has Ⅱ (A) or Ⅳ (AB) - 99% girl
  • Mom has Ⅲ (B), and father has Ⅰ (0) - 99% girl
  • Mom has Ⅳ (AB), and dad has Ⅱ (A) - 99% girl

This technique should not be taken as completely reliable; Mother Nature always has the last word.

Rhesus (Rh) How is it transmitted to the child?

What is rhesus? What is its effect on the intrauterine development of the fetus? Rhesus or Rhesus factor are lipoproteins (complex proteins) that live in the membrane of red blood cells.

85% of people have it, and the remaining 15% do not have complex protein at all. The first are classified as Rh positive (Rh+), and the second are Rh negative (Rh-). To establish the rhesus of a newborn, blood is taken from the heel and one pair of genes is examined.

A positive Rh factor (Rh+) is dominant and is designated DD (completely positive) or Dd (partially positive - heterozygous). Rh negative (Rh-) is recessive (weak) and is symbolized by dd. In the case when both parents have a Dd combination, that is, there is a clear dominant and recessive trait in the blood, they will be Rh positive.

Regarding their offspring - 75% that they will be positive and 25% - negative. If both parents or only one are Rh positive, the child can inherit both the plus and minus. Parents with a minus, children will only be Rh negative.

In genetics there is a definition of “Rh - conflict”. A very dangerous answer from a mother for a baby. This is due to the fact that when the baby’s red blood cells enter the mother’s blood, the mother’s body begins to produce antibodies against them.

Antibodies cause hemolytic disease of the fetus, which can lead to jaundice or anemia in the newborn, or worse, miscarriage. Mutations also happen. The gene set and number of red blood cells of an infant differs significantly from the gene set of the parents. Such a case is rare and happens once in a million.

Under what combinations of parent groups will the child inherit one of the four

In a baby, the first Ⅰ (0):

  1. Both parents are carriers of the first group. The baby has a 100% hit rate in the first one.
  2. The first is from the mother, and the second from the father, giving the baby a 50/50 chance of inheriting one of the parents.
  3. Mom is the first carrier, and dad is the fourth. The child may get the second or third.

In a baby, the second Ⅱ (A):


The baby has the third Ⅲ (B):

  1. A similar case as in the previous version. 75% that the baby will be born with the third and 25% that with the first.
  2. My mother has a third blood group, and my father has a fourth. Predicted for a baby - second or fourth.

The baby has the fourth Ⅳ (AB):

The “youngest” among all the others. The result may be completely unexpected.

  1. Even if dad has the fourth and mom has the first, the baby can have any group except the second
  2. And if the parents have a fourth, there is only a 50% chance that the baby will have the same. There's just no chance of getting the first one.

As you know, there are 4 blood groups in total. Blood type is inherited genetically, that is, the child’s blood type depends on the blood type of the parents. How to determine what blood type a child will have?

Certainly, the most reliable way To find out your baby's blood type is to do a test. Based on the results of the analysis, you will find out both your blood type and Rh factor. But if you wish, you can “estimate” the child’s blood type even before his birth, knowing the blood types of his parents.

The system of dividing blood groups, which is generally accepted at present, is called AB0 system. According to this system, human red blood cells (erythrocytes) are characterized by the presence of special substances in them - antigens. The interaction of antigens affects, in particular, the compatibility of different blood groups in donors and recipients.

  • I (0) - both antigens are absent
  • II (A) - antigen A is present
  • III (B) - antigen B is present
  • IV (AB) - both antigens are present

But how will this information help determine what blood type a child has? The fact is that inheritance of blood type occurs in the same way as inheritance of other characteristics(for example, eye and hair color) and obeys the laws of genetics formulated by Mendel. Of course, these laws will not help you find out with 100% certainty what blood type a child has, but a certain pattern can be traced:

  • Parents with blood type I will have children with blood type I.
  • Parents with blood group II will have children with blood group I or II.
  • Parents with blood group III will have children with blood group I or III.
  • Parents with I and II or I and III will have children with one of these blood groups.
  • If one of the parents has blood type IV, then the child cannot have blood type I.
  • If one of the parents has blood type I, then they cannot have a child with blood type IV.
  • Parents with blood groups II and III can have children with any blood group.

For greater clarity, we offer you small table. In it you can see what blood type a child may have with a certain combination of parental blood groups.

Blood group inheritance table

In addition to blood type, it is important to know it Rh factor. Blood rhesus is a protein (antigen) located on the surface of red blood cells. Most people have this protein, which is why they are considered Rh positive. Those who do not have this protein (and such people are only about 15%) are considered Rh negative.

Many people mistakenly believe that Rh-positive parents can only give birth to Rh-positive children. Actually this is not true. The fact is that Rh negative is a recessive, “weak” trait. This trait may be present in the genotype, but “suppressed” by a stronger trait - the dominant one.

If both parents have both a dominant and a recessive trait in their genotype, then both will be Rh positive, but there is 25% chance that their baby will be Rh negative as a result of a combination of two recessive traits.

Thus, if both parents, or at least one of them, have a positive Rh factor, then both an Rh positive and an Rh negative child can be born. The same applies to couples in which one parent is Rh positive and the other is Rh negative. Two parents with a negative Rh factor can only give birth to an Rh negative child..

As you can see, basic knowledge of genetics at the school curriculum level may well help determine what blood type a child has - at least approximately. And if you don't want to remember, our sign will help you.

Modern medicine and the latest technologies now make it possible to learn almost everything about the unborn baby. Right down to what the child’s eye color will be and even the possible hair color. But the simplest method in this world of knowledge is to find out the blood type of the unborn baby.

How to find out blood type by AB0

In world medicine, there are four blood groups - the first is 0 (zero), the second is A, the third is B and the fourth is AB. In general, the system of these groups is combined into a certain abbreviation AB0 where 0 (zero).
A and B are agglutinogens (that is, erythrocyte antigens) that are present only in people with the first, second and fourth blood groups; if they are not detected during laboratory testing (that is, completely absent), then the person has the first blood group (zero).
  • Unless A is the second blood group.
  • If only B is the third blood group.
  • If A and B are the fourth blood group.
  • If 0 (zero) - first blood group.
Also, according to ABO, the determination of blood group also depends on the factor, there is a positive Rh factor and a negative Rh factor (it is completely absent). Why is it very important to know the blood type for a pregnant woman? Simply, if a woman has a negative Rh factor, during pregnancy she may have a Rh conflict with a child who may have this Rh factor (positive). Rh negative does not affect health in any way, and there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of, everything is the same as for positive ones.

What blood type can a child inherit?

Genetics has long figured out how you can inherit a blood type from your parents; this method is available even to a schoolchild and it depends on the banal combination of the blood types of the parents.
Small table:
  • 00 (first blood group) - if the mother and father have the first blood group, the child will accordingly have the same.
  • AA or A0 (second blood group) - the baby can receive either the second blood group or the first from the parents.
  • BB or B0 (third blood group) - the child will get either the third group or the first.
  • AB (fourth blood group) - you will inherit either the second group, the third or (which is very rare) the fourth.


As for the Rh factor, everything here is also predictable. If one of the parents has a positive one, and the other one has a negative one, the child can receive either one or the other factor. If both parents have negative Rh, then the baby will also not have it (that is, it will also be negative). There is such a thing as heterozygosity - both parents who have a positive Rh factor can pass a negative one on to the child, but this happens, as a rule, rarely (about 25% of all cases) in most cases the Rh factor also turns out to be positive. The cause may be deep genetic inheritance, perhaps a grandmother or grandfather has negative Rh.

The rarest blood groups are the fourth (both Rh positive and negative) and the first negative. But an interesting fact is that, for example, if a child has the first blood group, only the first group and no other will be suitable for a transfusion. But the first group itself is universal, that is, it is suitable for any other. But only the same or the first group is suitable for the fourth group. The second and third groups are the most common and are observed in most people.


Now there are many new laboratory tests that can show what blood type a child has and whether a Rh conflict may occur, but they are not always safe and can be quite painful, and are also carried out only for special purposes if there is a threat to the fetus or mother .

In cases where the concept of blood group is used, they mean the group (according to the ABO system) and the Rh factor Rh. The first is determined by antigens found on erythrocytes (red blood cells). Antigens are specific structures on the surface of a cell. The second component is . This is a specific lipoprotein that may or may not be present on the erythrocyte. Accordingly, it will be defined as positive or negative. In this article we will figure out which blood group of children and parents will be a priority during pregnancy.

If the body identifies such a structure as foreign, it will react aggressively to it. It is this principle that must be taken into account during lymph transfusion procedures. People often have the misconception that parents should be the same. There is Mendel's law, which allows us to predict the performance of future children, but these calculations will not be unambiguous.

As mentioned, the ABO blood system is determined by the location of certain antigens on the outer membrane of the red blood cell.

So, there are 4 blood groups in children and adults:

  • I (0) – no antigens A or B.
  • II (A) - only A is present.
  • III (B) - B is defined on the surface.
  • IV (AB) - both antigens A and B are detected.

Inheritance of blood groups

Parents often wonder whether the blood type of parents and children can be different? Yes, this is possible. The fact is that in a child it happens according to the law of genetics, where genes A and B are dominant, and O is recessive. The baby receives one gene each from his mother and father. Most genes in humans have two copies.

In a simplified form, a person’s genotype can be described as follows:

  • - OO: the child will inherit only O.
  • - AA or AO.
  • - BB or VO: both one and the second trait can be inherited equally.
  • - AB: children can get A or B.

There is a special table of the blood group of children and parents, from which you can clearly guess which blood group and Rh factor the child will receive:

Parents' blood types Possible blood type of the child
I+I I (100%)
I+II I (50%) II (50%)
I+III I (50%) III (50%)
I+IV II (50%) III (50%)
II+II I (25%) II (75%)
II+III I (25%) II (25%) III (50%) IV (25%)
II+IV II (50%) III (25%) IV (25%)
III+III I (25%) III (75%)
III+IV II (25%) III (50%) IV (25%)
IV+IV II (25%) III (25%) IV (50%)

It is worth paying attention to a number of patterns in the inheritance of traits. Thus, the blood type of children and parents must match 100% if both parents have the first. In cases where parents have groups 1 and 2 or groups 1 and 3, children can equally inherit any trait from one of the parents. If a partner has blood type 4, then in any case he cannot have a child with type 1. The blood type of children and parents may not match even if one of the partners has group 2 and the other has group 3. With this option, any result is possible.

The situation with Rh inheritance is much simpler: the D antigen is either present or absent. A positive Rh factor is dominant over a negative one. Accordingly, the following subgroups are possible: DD, Dd, dd, where D is a dominant gene and d is a recessive gene. From the above it is clear that the first two combinations will be positive, and only the last one will be negative.

In life, this situation will look like this. If at least one parent has DD, then the child will inherit a positive Rh factor, if both have DD, then a negative one. If the parents have Dd, there is a possibility of having a child with any rhesus factor.


There is a version that parents can be identified. Of course, one cannot believe in such a calculation with great confidence.

The essence of calculating the blood type of an unborn child comes down to the following principles:

  • A woman (1) and a man (1 or 3) are more likely to give birth to a girl; if a man has 2 and 4, the likelihood of having a boy will increase.
  • A woman (2) with a man (2 and 4) will most likely get a girl, and with a man (1 and 3) a boy.
  • Mother (3) and father (1) will give birth to a girl, with men of other groups there will be a son.
  • A woman (4) and a man (2) should expect a girl; men of a different blood will have a son.

It is worth noting that there is no scientific evidence for this theory. The method suggests that the unity of parents according to the state of Rh blood (both negative and positive) speaks in favor of the appearance of a daughter, and in other cases - a son.


conclusions

Currently, medicine makes it possible to determine which symptoms a child may develop even before birth. Of course, you should not completely trust tables and independent research. Accuracy in determining the group and rhesus of the unborn child can only be expected after a laboratory study.

What is really worth paying attention to is the fact that using parental blood one can very likely determine the predisposition to diseases of the future child.

One of the most important tasks when determining blood category is to reduce the possible risk of blood transfusion. If alien genes enter the human body, an aggressive reaction may begin, the outcome of which is very sad. The same situation occurs with inappropriate rhesus. It is important for pregnant women, especially those with a negative factor, to take these circumstances into account.

We should not forget about possible gene mutations that occur on earth to one degree or another. The fact is that previously there was one blood group (1), the rest appeared later. But these factors are so rare that it is not worth dwelling on them in detail.

There are certain observations regarding the correspondence between a person's character and his blood. From this, scientists drew conclusions about predisposition to certain diseases. Thus, the first group, being the earliest on Earth, seems to be the most resilient; among the people of this subgroup, leaders are most often found. These are pronounced meat lovers, but, unfortunately, they also have strong allergic reactions.

People of the second blood group are more patient and practical; they are most often vegetarians, also due to their sensitive gastrointestinal tract. Their immune system is weak and they are often susceptible to infectious diseases.

The third subgroup is represented by passionate natures, extreme sports people. They tolerate environmental changes better than others and have excellent immunity.

People of the fourth blood subgroup are the rarest, they are very sensual and see this world in their own way. They have a receptive nervous system and are often very altruistic.

Whether to trust such characteristics and whether to make predictions about the character of their child based on such observations is up to parents to decide. But using the achievements of modern medicine to improve the health of the unborn baby is never superfluous.