Do you know what Golden Blood is? Golden Blood is the name given to an extremely rare kind of blood that is Rh-null. The blood type has only been found in 43 persons around the world during the last fifty years. It is considered vital not only for scientific research but also for the sake of blood transfusions. However, at the same time, it is very dangerous to live with for those who do have this rare type of blood owing to its scarcity.
Before you can begin to understand the golden blood, it is important to have a basic understanding of how blood types operate. Each one of our red blood cells has up to 342 antigens – these are the molecules responsible for producing certain specialized proteins known as antibodies – and the absence of certain antigens will determine the blood type of a person.
About 160 antigens from the list of 342 are considered common, implying that they can be found on the red blood cells of most humans on Earth. However, if someone lacks an antigen that is found in 99% of all humans, then the blood type is considered rare. If they lack the antigen found in 99.99% of humans, the blood type is considered very rare.
The known 342 antigens form 35 blood group systems of which the Rh or Rhesus system is the biggest featuring 61 antigens. It is common for humans to be missing one of the antigens from the Rh system. But what happens when a human is missing all of the 61 Rh antigens?
Doctors believed that such an embryo would not be able to survive in uterus let along live a life. However, in 1961 an Aboriginal Australian woman was identified as a person having the Rh-null blood or golden blood. This means that she lacked all of the antigens in the Rh blood system. Since then, only 43 persons have been identified with golden blood.
The Rh-bull blood is known as golden blood for two reasons; the lack of entire Rh antigens implies that it can be accepted by anyone with a rare blood type within the Rh blood system and it can help scientists to unlock the mysteries of the physiological role of the complex Rh system. Scientists usually try to track donors that have golden blood to ask them for more donations as well.
The golden blood can be given to anyone with a negative Rh blood type, and scientists have said that it is worth its weight in gold – probably from where it gets the name; golden blood. Despite all of its benefits, if you have the golden blood, then you will have to live a cautious life because if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need blood donation; things could get ugly.
