Blood type
05/11/12 05:54
The aftermath of superstorm Sandy is another reminder of our basic human obligation and privilege of helping one another. On the first day of the storm I received an alert from the Red Cross about the need for assistance for the victims of the storm. I checked out the Church World Service Web site to see what response was in place. One of the things that we do is to support causes that prepare for disasters. Each year our church receives two special offerings, One Great Hour of Sharing and Blankets Plus. Part of these offerings is to prepare for potential disaster and position resources so that a quick response is ready. In the event of a disaster the quicker the response, the less suffering will occur.
There are, however, some supplies that are more difficult to stockpile. Human blood, necessary for the treatment of a variety of illnesses and injuries, has a limited shelf life. Red blood cells can be stored a maximum of 42 days. Platelets must be used within five days. Only plasma, the liquid component of blood, can be stored long term. By freezing, it can be stored up to a year. So the way to prepare and respond to the need is for people to donate regularly. The need in the United States alone is 4.5 million people each year. Break that down and it means that someone needs blood every two seconds.
But less than 10% of the population of the United States donates blood at least once per year. So I try to do my part. I donate whole blood at least four times each year and donate platelets and plasma more often. The people at our local United Blood Services donation center know me by name. I’ll be there Thursday morning. I have healthy bone marrow that makes a constant supply of red cells, plasma and platelets, so I have plenty to share each time I arrive at the center.
It is very important to me to engage in this particular form of volunteer giving. As opposed to other charitable giving, which is also important to me, donating blood is different because it is literally giving part of myself. When I give a financial donation, it is a gift of my resources. Giving blood is giving myself – symbolically sharing my life – without any expectation of anything in return. OK, I do accept the free t-shirts that the blood center gives me.
My blood type is O positive, which is the most common blood type in the United States. That also means that it is the most often needed blood type. O negative is considered to be the universal donor of red blood cells, those can be received by people with other blood types.
Most of the time I don’t think about my blood type. It is simply a small part of who I am, information that is useful only when I donate blood, plasma or platelets.
But blood type is a big deal in Japan. The Japanese believe that blood type determines personality. Four books describing the different blood groups characteristics became a huge publishing sensation, selling more than five million copies. I don’t read Japanese, and they haven’t been translated, so I haven’t checked them out. In general, popular belief in Japan holds that type As are sensitive perfectionists and good team players. They do tend, however, to be over-anxious. Type Os are curious and generous but stubborn. Abs are arty but mysterious and unpredictable. Type Bs are cheerful but eccentric, individualistic and selfish. A year ago Minister for Reconstruction Ryu Matsumoto resigned after being criticized for making insensitive remarks. He blamed his blood type: “My blood’s type B, which means I can be irritable and impetuous, and my intentions don’t always come across.”
The women’s softball team that won gold for Japan at the Beijing Olympics used blood type theories to customize training for each player. In Japan, some kindergartens adopt different teaching methods for different blood types. Companies make decisions about assignments based on employees’ blood types. Mitsubishi Electronics has a team of workers composed entirely of people with AB blood type believing that they have exceptional planning abilities. Many employers routinely ask blood type as part of the job interview process.
I don’t know why this obsession with blood type is so common in Japan and practically unheard of in the rest of the world. Perhaps this obsession comes from the observation that blood types are a bit atypical in Japan. In the United States and Europe the most common blood type is O, while in much of India and Asia, the most common blood is type B. In Japan there is quite a bit of variety, with Type A being the most common with 40% and type O accounting for about 30%. Type B represents about 20% of the population in Japan.
Looking at Japan as an outsider, the obsession with blood type seems almost like a kind of racism. Assumptions are made about people based on unproven assumptions about something over which they have no control. You can’t choose your blood type. It is just something with which you are born. To claim that someone is bad or good based on blood type is just a form of prejudice.
Having books written about something doesn’t mean that it is the truth. There have been plenty of books that have perpetuated false notions about race.
Blood type is simply determined by proteins in the blood. For most of human history we have been unaware of different types. It was only in 1901 that the blood type system was discovered. That discovery led to making safe blood transfusions common medical practice. By the 1930’s theories of eugenics were appearing in Germany and in Japan, with the belief that some blood types were superior to others. The government of Japan adopted eugenics as official policy during the 1930’s forming battle groups by blood type during the Second World War. Vestiges of this obsolete and frequently debunked theory still remain.
The aftermath of a storm, however, is something that Japan recognizes, having suffered so greatly in the aftermath of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Suffering and recovery demand that people pull together and get beyond their differences.
So, as our neighbors dig out from Sandy, I’m heading to the donation center. I’ll offer the only type of blood that I have. I am confident that it will help.
There are, however, some supplies that are more difficult to stockpile. Human blood, necessary for the treatment of a variety of illnesses and injuries, has a limited shelf life. Red blood cells can be stored a maximum of 42 days. Platelets must be used within five days. Only plasma, the liquid component of blood, can be stored long term. By freezing, it can be stored up to a year. So the way to prepare and respond to the need is for people to donate regularly. The need in the United States alone is 4.5 million people each year. Break that down and it means that someone needs blood every two seconds.
But less than 10% of the population of the United States donates blood at least once per year. So I try to do my part. I donate whole blood at least four times each year and donate platelets and plasma more often. The people at our local United Blood Services donation center know me by name. I’ll be there Thursday morning. I have healthy bone marrow that makes a constant supply of red cells, plasma and platelets, so I have plenty to share each time I arrive at the center.
It is very important to me to engage in this particular form of volunteer giving. As opposed to other charitable giving, which is also important to me, donating blood is different because it is literally giving part of myself. When I give a financial donation, it is a gift of my resources. Giving blood is giving myself – symbolically sharing my life – without any expectation of anything in return. OK, I do accept the free t-shirts that the blood center gives me.
My blood type is O positive, which is the most common blood type in the United States. That also means that it is the most often needed blood type. O negative is considered to be the universal donor of red blood cells, those can be received by people with other blood types.
Most of the time I don’t think about my blood type. It is simply a small part of who I am, information that is useful only when I donate blood, plasma or platelets.
But blood type is a big deal in Japan. The Japanese believe that blood type determines personality. Four books describing the different blood groups characteristics became a huge publishing sensation, selling more than five million copies. I don’t read Japanese, and they haven’t been translated, so I haven’t checked them out. In general, popular belief in Japan holds that type As are sensitive perfectionists and good team players. They do tend, however, to be over-anxious. Type Os are curious and generous but stubborn. Abs are arty but mysterious and unpredictable. Type Bs are cheerful but eccentric, individualistic and selfish. A year ago Minister for Reconstruction Ryu Matsumoto resigned after being criticized for making insensitive remarks. He blamed his blood type: “My blood’s type B, which means I can be irritable and impetuous, and my intentions don’t always come across.”
The women’s softball team that won gold for Japan at the Beijing Olympics used blood type theories to customize training for each player. In Japan, some kindergartens adopt different teaching methods for different blood types. Companies make decisions about assignments based on employees’ blood types. Mitsubishi Electronics has a team of workers composed entirely of people with AB blood type believing that they have exceptional planning abilities. Many employers routinely ask blood type as part of the job interview process.
I don’t know why this obsession with blood type is so common in Japan and practically unheard of in the rest of the world. Perhaps this obsession comes from the observation that blood types are a bit atypical in Japan. In the United States and Europe the most common blood type is O, while in much of India and Asia, the most common blood is type B. In Japan there is quite a bit of variety, with Type A being the most common with 40% and type O accounting for about 30%. Type B represents about 20% of the population in Japan.
Looking at Japan as an outsider, the obsession with blood type seems almost like a kind of racism. Assumptions are made about people based on unproven assumptions about something over which they have no control. You can’t choose your blood type. It is just something with which you are born. To claim that someone is bad or good based on blood type is just a form of prejudice.
Having books written about something doesn’t mean that it is the truth. There have been plenty of books that have perpetuated false notions about race.
Blood type is simply determined by proteins in the blood. For most of human history we have been unaware of different types. It was only in 1901 that the blood type system was discovered. That discovery led to making safe blood transfusions common medical practice. By the 1930’s theories of eugenics were appearing in Germany and in Japan, with the belief that some blood types were superior to others. The government of Japan adopted eugenics as official policy during the 1930’s forming battle groups by blood type during the Second World War. Vestiges of this obsolete and frequently debunked theory still remain.
The aftermath of a storm, however, is something that Japan recognizes, having suffered so greatly in the aftermath of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Suffering and recovery demand that people pull together and get beyond their differences.
So, as our neighbors dig out from Sandy, I’m heading to the donation center. I’ll offer the only type of blood that I have. I am confident that it will help.