Learn about 'golden blood' - the world's strangest and rarest color group, only a few dozen people have

Since 1961, only 43 cases have been identified with this special type of yellow blood.

According to the American Red Cross, human blood is divided into several groups based on specific carbohydrates and proteins on red blood cells. The world currently has about 40 different blood types with more than 600 types of antigens.

If someone carries rare antigens or lacks common ones, they are considered to have a rare blood type. In which, Rh-null is the rarest blood in the world. People with precious blood often have a difficult life and face many dangers to their lives.

Their blood type becomes a legacy to medicine. Many people, despite the danger, choose to share their blood for medicine, reviving many critical lives.

People with rare blood are often prone to life-threatening situations when they give birth or have an accident. Because their blood type is not available.

One of the four rarest blood types in the world is Boombay, first discovered by Dr. Bhende in India in 1952. The phenotype of this blood group is the lack of A, B and H antigens.

Carriers of this rare blood type can only accept blood from another Bombay blood type individual. In daily clinical testing, rare blood types such as Bombay are also prone to be mistakenly tested for blood group O. If the test is wrong and transfusion of type O blood to the patient can cause a serious hemolytic transfusion reaction, life threatening.

It is estimated that only 1 in 10,000 Indians and 1 in 1,000,000 Europeans have this blood type. In China, only 100 people have been discovered with the above-mentioned rare blood type.

The other case is Rh (-) or Rh negative blood group. This is a scientific mystery. No one can explain where people with Rh negative blood type come from. Many blood factor researchers believe that these people are the result of a random mutation, if not a descendant of another ancestor.

In life, people with this blood type in urgent need of blood transfusion (accident, emergency surgery) are at risk of facing many dangers because the reserve bank is not available.

In case the mother has Rh (-) blood group, the father has Rh (+) blood group, there can be serious problems due to blood group incompatibility between mother and child. It can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, or a baby born with an intellectual disability.

According to Odditycentral, yellow blood or Rh-null blood is an extremely rare blood type that has been identified during the past 50 years. This blood group is not only used for research but also for life-saving blood transfusions. Its limitation, however, is its scarcity.

To understand what is yellow blood, we need to understand how blood types work. Human blood may look the same but the reality is very different. According to the International Association of Blood Transfusion, there are 35 recognized blood types, but the most important are still ABO and Rh. The combination of A, B and RhD antigens creates 8 common blood groups including A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-, O+ and O-.

There are 342 antigens on the surface of each blood cell, which are molecules that stimulate the production of antibodies. And the lack of certain antigens is an important factor in determining a person's blood type.

This blood group is not only used for research but also for life-saving blood transfusions.

There are about 160 of these antigens that are common, meaning they are found on all people's blood cells. But if someone lacks an antigen found in the remaining 99% of people, their blood is considered rare. Even if only one antigen is missing, which 99.99% of people have, their blood is considered very rare.

The antigens belong to the 35 blood group system of which Rh or Rhesus is the largest system with 61 antigens and is divided into Rh- and Rh+. While Rh+ is a group that has the D antigen, Rh- does not have this antigen. It would not be unusual for humans to lack one of the D antigens. For example, about 15% of Caucasians lack the D antigen and the most important Rh antigen. This makes their blood Rh-. In contrast, Rh- blood type is less common in Asians with a prevalence of only 0.3%. But what if a person is missing all 61 Rh antigens, or in other words doesn't have any Rh antigens.

Half a century ago, doctors believed that an embryo without antigens would not even survive, let alone develop into a healthy person. But in 1961, an Aboriginal Australian woman was determined to have Rh-null blood type in her. That means, she lacks all the antigens in the Rh blood system. Since then, only about 43 people with the Rh-null blood group have been identified.

Rh-null is called "golden blood" for two reasons. First and foremost, it lacks all Rh antigens. That also means, it can be transfused to all other blood types and people with rare blood Rh system drugs. This is indeed a very rare thing.

Its potential to save lives is so great that even though the donor's name is hidden, scientists keep a close eye on people with yellow blood type and encourage them to donate blood to save lives. Also because of its scarcity, it is difficult to find an alternative blood type.

Not only saving people, yellow blood also brings great scientific value. It helps researchers unravel the mystery of the role of the complex Rh system.

Rh-null blood can be given to anyone with Rh- blood type. But people with this blood type face an equally disadvantage. They were forced to find people with the same Rh-null blood type when giving blood. Because their body is only compatible with this blood type. If you receive blood from someone who is Rh+ or has one of the 61 antigens that they lack, the person's body with yellow blood reacts with the receiving blood cells. The result is a series of fatal immune reactions.

There are other blood types that are just as rare, if not rarer than Rhnull. As of 2019, the International Society of Blood Transfusion, a scientific association specializing in the study of blood transfusion, has recorded 360 blood group antigens, of which 322 are grouped into 36 blood group systems. The remaining 38 antigens are not currently included in any known system.

These numbers are constantly changing, with new blood group antigens being added to different blood group systems, and antigens being dropped from time to time based on new data. All of this means that determining which of the blood types is the rarest is simply impossible.