Genomics Shows There Is More To Blood Type Than We Are Used To Being Told

Beyond Blood Type: Genomics Can Show What You're Really Made Of

Sarah Zhang : March 14, 2016

[...] Why is blood a good candidate for genetic personalization? It helps that how genes contribute to blood types is a bit more straightforward than, say, cardiovascular disease. A, B, and Rh (that’s the thing that gives you the positive/negative distinction) are all gene-encoded proteins that stick out like flags on the surface of red blood cells. When the immune system sees a foreign flag, it attacks—in which case the transfusion backfires. Now A, B, and Rh are the most prominent flags, so they are the most important. Behind them are about 35 other key proteins, which Westhoff says the National Center will test for in every single unit of blood they receive. [...]

Chipping away. Two new gene chips (BLOODchip above) can test for many blood groups beyond ABO. Source: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/319/5869/1478.full

<more at http://www.wired.com/2016/03/beyond-blood-type-genomics-can-show-youre-really-made/; related links and articles: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/319/5869/1478.full (Blood-Matching Goes Genetic. Science, 14 Mar 2008: Vol. 319, Issue 5869, pp. 1478-1479
DOI: 10.1126/science.319.5869.1478) and https://www.morningstar.com/news/pr-news-wire/PRNews_20160224DC30932/new-innovative-national-center-for-blood-group-genomics-created-by-the-new-york-blood-center-nybc-in-kansas-city-mo.html (New Innovative National Center for Blood Group Genomics Created by the New York Blood Center (NYBC) in Kansas City, MO. February 24, 2016)>