By now you must have heard of four blood groups. They are A, B, AB and O. These blood groups can be negative or positive. Now scientists have solved a 50-year-old mystery by identifying a new blood type. Scientists have named this blood group “MAL”. Scientists claim that by identifying this blood group, it will be possible to identify patients deficient in this weak blood group.
According to the study, scientists from NHS Blood and Transplant (Bristol), the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory (IBGRL) and the University of Bristol identified this rare blood group. The particularity of this blood group is that the AnWj antigen is absent. While this antigen is present in 99.9 percent of people. Scientists believe that the absence of this antigen could be due to a specific modification of the gene.
Antigen deficiency may be genetic
Scientists say some people may lack the AnWj antigen due to illness. However, its hereditary absence is quite rare. Only a few individuals have been identified worldwide who did not possess the AnWj antigen at birth. According to scientists, thanks to this discovery it will become easier to identify people suffering from this disease. Genetic deficiency of this antigen is so rare that only one family of Arab-Israeli origin has been identified so far.
The antigen was discovered in 1972
According to reports, in 1972, scientists discovered the absence of the AnWj antigen in the blood sample of a pregnant woman. Scientists then thought it might be a new blood type. However, its genetic origin was not yet known. Scientists say that 99.9 percent of people have the AnWj antigen and it forms the MAl protein on red blood cells, but people negative for the AnWj antigen do not have this protein in their red blood cells. Studies have shown that AnWj antigen negative individuals can have many health problems, such as many types of cancer or blood-related diseases.
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