The spread of COVID-19 locally and throughout the country is driving more of us than ever before to ask questions about our health, including “What’s my blood type?” Sadly, many of us don’t know what our blood type is, and it’s a bit concerning because our quality of life depends on it.
In a just-released survey of 500 adults (ages 18-64), commissioned by local direct access lab testing company Any Lab Test Now, 37 percent of those surveyed have no clue about their blood type and 58 percent of them have never even thought about it.
“Many of our clients don’t know their blood type when they come in for testing,” said Bob Showers, owner of Any Lab Test Now in Brandon. “There are really only four types of blood types, A, B, AB and O. Then you have a positive or a negative of those.”
Research is currently being done to see if there is a connection between blood type and your chances of catching and recovering from COVID-19. Does your blood type increase your risk of getting COVID-19 and other serious illnesses like heart disease and some gastrointestinal cancers?
“This pandemic has more people than ever before monitoring their health, and thankfully we’re seeing families come into our labs to get a quick and simple screening to learn their blood type to understand their risk for diseases,” said Clarissa Bradstock, CEO of Any Lab Test Now. “If COVID has taught us anything, it’s that we need to be vigilant about our health, and a good place to start is with knowing our blood type and the health risks associated with it.”
Two studies published on October 14 of this year in Blood Advances suggest, “People with blood type O may have a lower risk of COVID-19 infection and reduced likelihood of severe outcomes, including organ complications, if they do get sick. Blood type O may offer some protection against COVID-19 infection, according to a retrospective study. Researchers compared Danish health registry data from more than 473,000 individuals tested for COVID-19 to data from a control group of more than 2.2 million people from the general population. Among the COVID-19 positive, they found fewer people with blood type O and more people with A, B and AB types. The study results suggest that people with blood types A, B or AB may be more likely to be infected with COVID-19 than people with type O. The researchers did not find any significant difference in rate of infection between A, B and AB types. Since blood group distributions vary among ethnic subgroups, the researchers also controlled for ethnicity and maintained that fewer people with blood type O tested positive for the virus.”
To learn more about the services offered at Any Lab Test Now, visit www.anylabtestnow.com or call 438-8700. The office is located at 205 E. Brandon Blvd. COVID-19 testing is not offered at this location.
