Question

What is the difference between O^{​​​​​​-} blood group and Bombay blood group?

Answer 1

Blood type O also looks like Bombay blood group . It is because Bombay blood group will not have antigen A and antigen B, so lab technicians will think that it belongs to blood group O unless blood sample is made to test against H antigen, Bombay blood group doesn’t contain H antigen too but people with blood type O contains H antigen. So it’s because of the way blood type is detected, it is more likely that Bombay blood group is misdiagnosed as blood group O. this Bombay blood group is also known as HH blood group.

A person needs to have H gene in order to make A protein or B protein. ABO gene codes for proteins that turn the H protein into A or B. Since Bombay blood group type people lack protein H and their ABO gene cannot produce A or B . In such person even though the ABO gene may actually contain A but since H protein is not there A might not be expressed. Or they may even have B gene but since again H is not there B might not have expressed too. So it’s more likely they look like O blood group type.

whereas ‘O’ blood group has ‘A’ and ‘B’ antibodies and no antigens. The HH or Bombay blood group do not produce this H antigen, subsequently not producing either A or B antigen. They only have the ‘H’ antibody which none of the other blood groups have due to which blood transfusion for the Bombay blood with any other group is not possible.