People with type O blood are more likely to die from serious injuries because their blood doesn’t clot as well as other types, Japanese researchers have discovered.
The research team, who published their findings in medical journal Critical Care, found that people with type O blood have lower levels of a clotting agent in their system, which leads to a greater risk of haemorrhaging (bleeding in large quantities).
Data from 901 high-care patients in Japan showed a death rate of 28 per cent for those with type O blood. The death rate of patients from other blood groups combined was 11 per cent.
The study’s lead researcher Dr Wataru Takayama said, “Recent studies suggest that blood type O could be a potential risk factor for haemorrhage.
“Loss of blood is the leading cause of death in patients with severe trauma but studies on the association between different blood types and the risk of trauma death have been scarce. We wanted to test the hypothesis that trauma survival is affected by differences in blood types.”
About 49 per cent of Australians have type O blood, making it the most common blood group in the country. The other main blood group categories are A, B, and AB. Thirty-eight per cent of the population are type A, 10 per cent type B and three per cent type AB.
Dr Takayama said the results raised questions about the emergency transfusion of O type red blood cells to severely injured patients.
Type O blood is known as a universal blood type and can normally be donated to anyone, unlike those with type A blood, who can only donate to someone who is type A or type AB. People with type O blood have lower levels of von Willebrand factor, a blood-clotting agent that may help prevent life-threatening bleeding.
“Our results also raise questions about how emergency transfusion of O type red blood cells to a severe trauma patient could affect homeostasis, the process which causes bleeding to stop, and if this is different from other blood types. Further research is necessary to investigate the results of our study and develop the best treatment strategy for severe trauma patients,” he explained.
All the study participants had suffered severe trauma and been admitted to critical care medical care centres in Japan between 2013 and 2016.