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Healthy aging and longevity

On call: Blood type and your health

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Q.At my last office exam, I asked my doctor if he could tell me my blood type. I was surprised it was never checked as part of my routine lab tests. Isn't my blood type important for the doctor to know?

Blood type varies according to the different kinds of sugar molecules and proteins on the surface of red blood cells. These inherited differences combine to form eight distinctive blood types, from O positive (the most common one in the United States) to AB negative (the least common).

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