A CLINIC in Valencia is researching a possible link between blood groups and likelihood of Covid-19 contagion, or its level of severity if caught.
The basis for the study is two articles published in October in Blood Advances and ratified by the American Haematology Society, which claims people with the blood group O have a reduced probability of developing severe complications if they catch the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and that there is more likelihood of these people being asymptomatic.
Researchers at the Valencia Infertility Institute (IVI) also looked into data published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the results of an international study indicating that 'genetic traits' may be behind the reasons why some patients with Covid develop very serious symptoms.
IVI's work to date has been presented in the latest bulletin of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and seems to show that the blood-groups O+ and Rhesus Positive (Rh+) offer greater protection against the virus or, if it is caught, against its effects.
“Through data analysed within our population between May and June, focusing on a sample of 6,140 patients infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we found that the incidence was much lower in patients with O blood-groups, and that the Rhesus Negative [Rh-] blood-type was much more frequently found in those infected,” says Dr Antonio Requena of the IVI.
The number of positives within the different blood-groups did not vary significantly by age, Dr Requena explains, and gender or biological sex did not appear to influence the results, either.
“We did, however, notice that people with the Rh- blood-type presented a slightly higher risk of contagion than those with the Rh+ blood-type,” he revealed.
The IVI research also found that where one member of a couple tests positive, there is also a high percentage of IgM positives among their partners.
IgM-positive with IgG-negative suggests an early-stage Covid contagion and that the patient is infectious, and IgM-positive with IgG-positive suggests low infectivity levels and that the condition is in an intermediate phase.
In the blood-groups where Covid was most prevalent, the IgM-positive percentage was also higher, according to the study.
The most common blood-group among Caucasians, Spaniards included, is O+, and is found in approximately one in three members of the population, or about 37.4% - these people can donate blood to all types of 'plus', but can only receive O+ or O- through transfusion.
At the moment, the research is not conclusive and other variables may need to be eliminated, says co-author of the research, Dr Christopher Latz.
For this reason, he and Dr Requena warn that people with O-type blood-groups should not let themselves get complacent, believing they are unlikely to catch Covid or that theirs will be very mild if they do, especially as, even if their own symptoms are minor or non-existent, they can still pass it onto someone with a different blood-group who may be more likely to suffer serious or even fatal effects.
It is considered worthwhile advancing these investigations, though, given that the sample studied indicated Covid is not necessarily more rife in the most frequently-found blood-groups – in fact, the opposite - which could have meant there was no connection, and because of the majority of infected persons still being asymptomatic, which may relate to the fact that the majority have blood-types that were found among those with milder or no symptoms.
But in the meantime and until follow-up research is carried out, the results may prove to be a valuable extra weapon, by highlighting the theory that Rh- patients may need to be more closely monitored and that those who know their blood-type is Rhesus Negative may be wise to take even more precautions than standard protection measures recommended to date.
The above photograph shows some of the team at the IVI, which carries out all types of reproductive treatment including donation, insemination, egg-freezing, embryo transplants, in-vitro, and treats heterosexual and lesbian couples and single women who want to have children.
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