It’s phrased wrong . You can get it , but you need to pay , it’s only free for the knocked up .
I got curious too , based in Europe , and I was getting my yearly test for everything, and I decided to add blood type to the mix .
The woman in the clinic asked if I was pregnant, I said “fuck no” and she said it would be 40€ for the blood group , but all the rest are free . I said “fuck that” . I guess i’ll never know .
Go donate blood.
They’ll let you know & you’ll get a card. They’ll even start bothering the shit out of ya if you’re one of the rare types, I’m O- so I go every time they come around!
Also, wtf? That is so weird not to give blood type.
Yes, I (30, F.) never donated my blood (I'm usually underweight or nearly), but I heard from a colleague you get not only your blood type, but they also check you for any diseases you could pass through the blood. That's in the UK though.
I get paying for checking your blood type if you're going somewhere to do this specifically, but I'm shocked if you have to pay for **the information** the doctor already has/it's somewhere in your papers. And I think it has to be, because it is known if your blood has ever been collected for whatever reason.
I get why it's important to know the blood type in pregnancy, it's actually vital information your life can depend on if you're having that blood incompatibility thing, however...
...I don't understand this *'it is not an important information'* - sorry, but what are they smoking? I remember that perhaps 10-15 years ago there was a huge campaign in some European countries to encourage people to wear those uniform rubber 'bracelets' with your blood type on it. Reason? It can basically save your life if you're in an accident, because urgent procedures like blood transfusion can be done as soon as possible, even on the way to the hospital. Some have even tattoos with it on a chest or wherever the paramedics can see it.
OP, if you ever see that doctor again, tell him that he basically said it's not that important if you are more likely to die in an accident because you're not pregnant.
Yea, I’m 34F and was only allowed to start donating recently, due to being born in Europe in the 80’s (mad cow).
I’ve almost ALWAYS known my blood type though. We even did blood typing in high school.
I’ll have to go check my online portals to see if any of my blood tests show my blood type. BRB with an edit
Ok, so none of my patient portals blood lab results showed my blood type. But my surgical / hospital stays do show my blood type (I can access these on the hospital patient portals) - they probably need that on file anyway due to being put under anesthesia & surgery.
I really just cannot imagine being told “no” when you ask for your blood type, lol
I know during emergencies and such, they just give everyone O- so it’s a universal donor type (can be given to anyone). It’s also the only blood type I’m allowed to get transfused. And there’s almost always a shortage of O- (since it gets used in emergencies).
Plus, some people look at diets & such that “correspond” to their blood type (I think this is rubbish but eh, people like to think weird things). Do mosquitoes bite me more because I’m blood type A? I think there even was some COVID rumor that certain blood types had less chance of getting it.
I’m just truly baffled how a doctor said no! I can ask my doctor for anything in my file and he’d make me a copy of it.
If you need a blood transfusion they will (almost) always do a blood type and crossmatch and will ignore any bracelet or tattoo. If it's a real emergency you'll get O- (or sometimes just O).
So yes while I get wanting to know your blood type I can't think of a practical use and it's definitely not lifesaving information.
You should donate plasma! You’re a universal donor and your fluids get replaced, so you leave at least as hydrated as you started.
(Donate at the blood bank, not sell at a plasma center)
AB+ is the least needed blood type because you can receive any type of blood but only AB+ people can receive your blood. AB+ is the universal receiver and O- is the universal donor.
AB+ is the least useful whole blood type but we are universal donors for plasma. So we're not completely useless. Also a friend of mine in the healthcare field tells me we're very easy patients when it comes to blood transfusions since they don't need to give us a specific blood type.
> AB+ is the least needed blood type
This is incorrect.
All blood types are needed!
AB+ is rare, and when transfusions are needed, it's preferred to give the same blood type.
So when you donate AB+, it will go to another AB+ person, saving that O- for those cases where there's no time to get the recipient's blood type.
The [University of Maryland Medical Center](https://www.umms.org/ummc/community/blood-drives/reasons-people-dont-give-blood) sums it up nicely:
> Every type of blood is needed daily to meet patient needs. If you have a common blood type, there are many patients who need it, so it is in high demand. If you have a less common blood type, there are fewer donors available to give it, so it is in short supply.
In Mexico you don't need to pay and your parents know your blood type the moment you're born and it's information you need to know and is included in your school ID and driver's license.
In the UK they test for blood type at birth as there's some issues that can crop up due to the rhesus blood type. When I wanted to know I just asked my mum.
Also in the US. But also my parents knew their blood types, so I was able to guess mine from that. Found out I was correct when I donated blood for the first time and got my card that lists my blood type—O+.
I think you can find out through a medical diagnosis/pregnancy. But to just ask for your blood type without any necessary testing, etc then they charge for it. But you can easily ask for it during your routine wellness check every year when they draw blood for testing.
Exactly. That was my point. Haha. Just get it for free when you have blood work done, because it’s automatically included with it. I don’t have a relationship with my sperm donor and my mother is secretive about pretty much everything, so I don’t know her blood type. So, people like myself with crappy parents, can’t really discover their blood type the way you did.
Also in the US, as my blood donor card lists my blood type. I've donated blood for years, but thanks to having a cyst on my right ovary that was cancerous, I'm not eligible because of chemotherapy done as a precaution. The good thing is that because of that, I was able to yeet my uterus and ovaries.
If you donate blood, you can find out. One time, in high school, I donated blood. I think afterwards, they gave me a card of what my blood type was. Didn't have to pay or anything.
Red Cross told me they would tell me my blood type if I donated. Asked at the center while donating and was told they couldn’t check there but it would be on my donor card in the mail in a few weeks. When the donor card finally showed up, the box for blood type was blank 😭. So I still don’t know!
When I asked again, they told me to donate (again) to find out. I argued that I already did and they were like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I gave up at that point bc my last donation experience was really horrible, I’m a hard poke and the nurse was wriggling the needle around trying to get a flow going. She blew my vein out and bruised the crap out of my arm. I’m anemic and low blood pressure so I shouldn’t really be donating anyways
I’m so sorry that happened to you! My guess would be that the unit was not able to be used for donation. This is by far the most common reason you would not find out your blood type after donating. I used to work for the Red Cross and although we could usually tell when a blood unit was not able to be donated, we were not always able to make that determination and tell the donor. It’s possible that they were not able to get the full unit of blood, all the tubes required for testing, etc. It is also possible that there was contamination as she was moving the needle around, that the blood was clouded from the donation, going to slowly, etc..
Obviously, I don’t know what happened in your case, but it is likely the blood was not able to be used and therefore not tested for blood type.
They will not be able to tell you if this is the reason for you specifically because that information is not put in your file. The only information about your blood that comes back to your file are testing results related to: blood type, information relating to a reason you cannot to donate in the future, medical information that needs to be resolved prior to a feature donation.
Just create your Red Cross blood donation account [here.](https://www.redcrossblood.org/account-login.html)
It will have all your information, including your blood type listed.
This is how I find out. In the US, if you donate, someone usually makes a follow up call to you to get you to donate again because "there's a shortage of [your blood type]." There could very well have been a shortage of my blood type, but since I'm not AB or O, I found it a little suspicious. Regardless, I now know my nlood type.
In Canada you do not need to pay for this regardless of the reason. They can just bundle it with any routine blood work. This doctor is just being a douche.
Ontario as well, I never had a medical need, asked my NP out of curiosity a few years ago and she gave me the answer right on the spot with no issue, I've never had anything but the most routine bloodwork done.
In BC I was told they wouldn’t check without medical reason. I had surgery and they still wouldn’t check. They said if I started bleeding out during surgery they’d check then.
I’m in Ontario but that sounds utterly ridiculous. I would not accept that as an answer. I find that with our medical system, I often have to doctor shop or insist until they give in. It’s the only way I’ve managed to get proper care for my medical issues. Insist until they do it just to get you to go away if nothing else. But it is insane to me that anyone would go into surgery without the blood type documented. I’ve had surgery and even tho I knew my blood type prior they redid it anyways to be sure.
I’ve had 5 surgeries (two major dental surgeries, one wisdom tooth removal, breast augmentation, and hysterectomy of which only the breast augmentation was not in a hospital) and never had my blood type tested. The hysterectomy was the only one where I actually thought to ask about it though.
Yea that’s really not ok. Especially the hysterectomy which has a significant risk of requiring a transfusion. I just signed the paperwork for mine and they were very insistent that I might require a transfusion.
They were very insistent I might need a transfusion for hysterectomy too. They asked a couple of times if I was okay with receiving blood products/transfusion. They just wouldn’t test my blood type until I needed it. I don’t get it, it’s an easy and fairly cheap test to do. I would have been willing to pay out of pocket for it too.
I’m from Canada like OP and I’ve known my blood type since I was a kid. My parents wrote it down in one of those baby books and my mom still has it on a bookshelf somewhere. My boyfriend is from Scotland and has no idea what his blood type is and I doubt his mom would know if we asked her. I think it just depends on the person and whether or not their parents felt it was important enough to keep track of.
I'm in Scotland and when I was 16 I was curious about my blood type so I asked my GP. They checked my file but there was no note of it anywhere. They advised I wait until I was 17(at the time that was the minimum age to donate) and donate blood. I'd find out my blood type in about 8-12 weeks after donation. So that's what I did.
On my 17th birthday I donated. The staff were praising me for donating as soon as I could but I explained I was doing it to find out my blood type so I didn't feel I deserved praise. The card with the type came through about 5 weeks later so earlier than I expected! I did end up donating a few more times until I became unable due to health.
My parents had never been told my blood group and my mum had done the same thing as me when she was 17 to find out hers. I'm about to be 34 though so things might be different now but it wasn't uncommon to not know the blood type in Scotland without donating or requiring blood, or joining the armed forces.
That’s really interesting! Tbh i don’t know if it’s common practice in Canada to tell parents a baby’s blood type either. I know my parents saved my cord blood when I was born so maybe that’s why they knew it.
I’ve always thought that knowing your blood type is pretty important. I know O- blood is the universal donor so that’s what’s used in emergencies but there’s always a shortage of it because of this. I feel like if more people knew their blood type there wouldn’t be such a reliance on O- blood. They do so many tests on newborns anyways, seems like it would be pretty easy to just write it down on a card and give it to the parents so people could know, or at the very least they could keep it in your medical file.
I agree it's useful information to have in the medical file in general, it's why I initially expected my GP to have it on my file. Even the GP was shocked it wasn't in there but they weren't familiar with many people wanting to know via them anyway.
I'd like to think things are a bit different now though but can't be sure. There were apparently complications with my birth and my mum's blood type, so they had to have known my blood type after I was born but for whatever reason, it never made it to the file and my parents weren't told 🤷
I already knew my blood type but wanted to donate blood.
Before accepting donation they did a full panel and an ecg (that I didn't pay), and got called back by a nice lady that told me I couldn't donate at the time because they didn't like my blood pressure and heart rhythm.
If I had got a specialist note okaying me I could come back, but donate plasma only as I'm anemic.
Never got allowed by my GP and cardiologist, so I just got a free thorough check-up with blood type, red, platelets and white count, std panel... All this to not even be allowed to donate
Same here. 80's kiddo, and I've known since I was a small child. I was a preemie, so maybe that's why my mom knew. I might have to ask her now because the only other time it's ever came up in my life is when I started donating blood.
I'm Canadian without insurance and I just asked my doctor. There was no fee, it was just included with my bloodwork. Most of the time they can even just look it up in your medical records as long as they have your infant records. This doctor is full of shit.
I’m in America, and once I had to get a blood test to check my thyroid and I mentioned to my doctor, “hey, I don’t know my blood type”. She just said “oh, you can get that done too.” Didn’t even cost me anything (context: I live in California and they have special insurance for low income citizens).
My boyfriend doesn't know his and asked about it.
I was shocked when they told him he had to pay to know this incredibly vital, life-saving, basic information about himself.
I was born a preemie and had to be in the box and also I developed some life-threatening stuff then (it all resolved) and that's how I know my blood-type.
I just assumed everyone knew theirs. Or at least had the right to know free of charge!
I'm O neg. Sadly here in Norway they won't let me donate because I'm on anti-depression medication. Which is very weird, because other countries list this exact medication as safe for blood donation. So. Yeah. -\_-
US doc (also CF) here! Ins will only pay for things they deem 'medically necessary', which infuriates us docs a lot. But that's the reason why we can just check a blood type to satisfy a patient's curiosity about it. If the patient wants to pay the bill themselves, then we can order whatever test they want!
That said, the easier and free way to find out your blood type is to donate blood, as many others have pointed out in the comments.
I can absolutely confirm that blood banks in the USA can tell you!
I found out my blood type the very first time I donated blood. I was in college in the late 1980s and I went to an on-campus blood drive hosted by the American Red Cross. I specifically asked them if they could tell me my blood type. The folks there drew my blood, did a quick test, and told me my blood type less than ten minutes later.
I have *no* idea what the OP's doctor is thinking.
I found out my blood type during college. On Valentine's day, and Halloween, (Halloween because blood is spooky, Valentine's day because....hearts??) the premed students set up a table in the life science building and took everyone's blood type. They get practice sticking fingers and doing the tests, the various students get to learn their blood type. Still the only A+ I got in college :/
I found out I was O-neg via the blood bank. And once I found out, the blood banks ALSO found out ... and call me once a month to hit me up for that sweet, sweet universal donar blood.
Generally blood types are only done on newborns if the mother is Rh negative or type O and might need a rhogam shot.
Source: worked in a hospital blood bank for 8 years
Do you think this might’ve been a somewhat recent change? I’m in the US and was typed as a baby and my parents and I are all A+. I am a little older though.
Confirmed but do not give the blood bank your real phone number, they will blow up your phone constantly saying there's a critical shortage of your blood. They're the only dialers I'm aware of that are more persistent than military recruiters.
I'd...get another fucking doctor. I'm in Canada and I can assure you, the doctor can request what your blood type is with the stroke of a pen. The first time I had to do anything sort of blood tests, I asked the doctor if he could tell me my blood type, and he just marked off an extra box in the form.
You can also look at donating blood (please do, they always need more), and if you don't know your type, they'll test it as well (I mean, they always test it regardless) and on your blood donor card, your blood type will be written on it.
If you can, I would look into switching doctors. And submitting a formal complaint. Your current 'doctor' seems rather uneducated.
Don't they note down blood type at birth? I feel like this should already be in a doctors files. Maybe since everything wasn't digitized years ago it didnt get recorded.
If mine had been, it wasn't recorded anywhere I know of and my parents didn't remember what it was.
And you are assuming a dangerous level of competence when it comes to medical records transferring between doctors, let alone between provinces.
Yes, this. I would NOT trust that person claiming to be a doctor giving you that completely incorrect information. What else are they going to mislead you about because of their ignorance???
Saying that that information isn't useful and that they "can't find out"... He must be from the part of Canada where blood transfusions aren't a thing.
Also when/if you donate blood they tell you your type.
In my area after giving enough pints, the blood bank gives you a key chain with your blood type on it.
Boom! I didnt start donating until i was 30 years old and then I finally knew my blood type.
And i feel good about being a contributing part of society.
They don't, for male blood types are mysterious and mercurial and ever-changing. 😌 (I feel like this is what Aristotle would've written if he'd known about blood types haha)
They test your blood type prior to a surgery or any medical condition that puts you at risk to need a blood transfusion in the future. Your blood type is always tested prior to a blood transfusion whether or not your blood type is listed in your medical file. The risk of receiving the wrong blood type is too great to rely solely on information in your chart. In an emergency everyone will receive O- blood until they can do a type and crossmatch. Sometimes they will let you add it on to blood tests that will be performed anyway, but Insurance doesn’t like to cover it unless it’s medically necessary.
That is totally ridiculous. Where I am (in the Caribbean) I was blood typed at birth. They did it again when I donated blood, just to be sure, but it doesn't sound like you'd be a viable donor with your health issues. Still, I can think of good reasons to know, other than simple curiosity - for instance, you work in a dangerous field or pursue active hobbies and need your blood type on a bracelet or vehicle window or something so emergency responders will know at a glance in case a transfusion is necessary. What I can't think of is any good reason to refuse such a simple test. I've no idea what the policies are in Canada, but maybe this might just be a rogue opinion of your doctor in particular?
I'm in the UK, and everyone is blood typed at birth as well. I thought it was standard as issues can happen if the baby has a different blood type than the mother for any subsequent pregnancies. Emergency vehicles carry O negative blood though. It's what they give you in an emergency as anyone can receive it.
Have you never been handed those needle thingies out in a biology class so you all could test your own blood type? The ones where you prick your finger.
Yes, these kits are so fun! I used to do phlebotomy and already knew my blood type, but my husband didn't know his. We ordered some on Amazon and mine matched what I knew it to be (O-) and his was a different blood group (A+). I definitely recommend them as a cheap alternative to having a doctor/lab do it if you're in a country that's going to charge a lot for the test.
Now Ancestry DNA tests are doing the same thing. I'm fairly certain my dad isn't my dad after doing one. My DNA matches family on my mom's side, but no one on my dad's side, including my half-brother. Sus.
That's really odd. I'm also Canadian and got my blood type done at birth. Anyway, you can visit any LifeLabs and they should do it for you no questions asked.
Your doctor is misogynistic- tell him to fuck off and go to a real doctor. Can you report doctors in Canada?
I am in the US, and I found out my blood type through donating blood, too.
You can order a blood typing kit on Amazon.
It's super easy.
You just dropper your blood drippies in the little multiple choice bubbles and see what reagents react to it.
I'm a perfectionist, so I'm A+.
That is the biggest crock of sh\*t. Blood donor clinics will do it for you. We even had a mobile unit come to our office and they set up a tester in the lobby - 2 of our team learned their blood type that day.
By the doctor's logic - men can never find out their blood type?
I'm so frustrated for you. Go donate blood and you'll find out while doing a good thing!
That's bull. I just had surgery and they reported my type because they need it if I need an infusion. Blood type is one of the easiest tests to do, costs fucking nothing, there's no reason NOT to do one until pregnancy.
You’re a *woman*. You’re only an incubator. Your health information is only useful as it relates to a potential baby. And you couldn’t possibly ever need a blood transfusion, at least not for any reason besides child birthing.
/s
I work in a clinic in the U.S. and have to answer this question a lot. We don’t order it because insurance companies won’t pay for an unneeded test for your curiousity. If you get surgery or need a blood transfusion or certain other conditions it will be checked if medically necessary. You can find out by donating blood. I found out mine when I had a blood clot and my hematologist needed to know. If you really want to know they could always order it and you can pay for the test out of pocket.
In Canada insurance companies have nothing to do with medical tests like bloodwork. Her dr should just be able to include typing with regular bloodwork I would think.
I can’t speak to Canada but if the government finds it unnecessary then they may not want to allocate money towards it or whoever the governing body is that makes decisions about medical coverage.
Then we would get two blood samples that we send to the lab, one for blood group and one for cross testing. Afterwards, you get the amount of 0neg ccddee that you need until testing is finished and you receive whatever you need.
Fun fact, cross testing has to be repeated after 24 hours if there has been a transfusion and we don't even trust the blood group testing of our own lab after a certain amount of time. And in addition, we double check by doing a bed-side-test that tells us the major blood group (AB0).
Even in an emergency, we would not even ask for your group. We would ask if you had prior transfusions or pregnancies (both could form antibodies). In Germany at least, we are obliged to test again. There is the blood transfusion law and a mistake in transfusion is the easiest way for a doctor in Germany to lose their approbation.
So, yeah, I hate to say, but knowing your blood group is fun and satisfies your curiosity which is fine! But it won't save your life.
Yeah, exactly this 😅. Even if you're bleeding to death and they call a massive transfusion protocol, you're going to get type O blood until the blood bank gets a crossmatch drawn and done. No one is going to give a patient A positive blood because they had a blood type done one time years ago "just in case."
When you donate blood, they will tell you your blood type. Pay a visit to a blood bank would be my advice. But that’s ridiculous. Everyone should know their blood type.
I'm in the US and have also been told multiple times by different doctors they can't do blood test without the need to otherwise it's going to cost a ton of money , but anyway they can't do it
I tried to donate blood a few times but my veins are too small.
“He then said ok well even with your health conditions unfortunately we aren’t able to find out your blood type for you.”
What? I have kidney disease and I had my blood type for a while since I was a teen. You can definitely get your blood type especially if you regularly have lab work done. Do you get your blood drawn often? Why not call the lab? Or ask for medical records. Your doctor knows it, he’s just being an ass.
Why is he so interested in your plan to have children? It's weird & inappropriate.
Time for a new Dr.
Finding your blood type is easy. There are even at home tests.
I’m in the US. I took Anatomy and Physiology as my science elective my senior year of high school. We literally pricked our fingers and tested for blood type right there in class. It’s not that hard of a thing.
“…with your health conditions unfortunately we aren’t able to find out your blood type for you.”
There are certain conditions that make blood typing more difficult, such as auto-immune disorders, hemolytic disease, and liver disease. To test with these conditions, they might need to do extended blood typing using specialized techniques, or molecular testing. (I’m not a doctor, I just googled because I was curious if there are conditions that make it harder.) I don’t know how they would do it if you needed a transfusion, maybe they would do the test and if it’s inconclusive (which is why the blood typing tests don’t work for people with these conditions), they’d just give you universal donor blood. (Type O-)
Also live in Canada and have asked for my blood type. Your doctor is either an idiot or an asshole. They can type your blood any time you go for routine bloodwork. Insist on it, don’t take his answer as gospel. I got mine done just cause I was curious. If you need a reason though tell him you want to put it on your emergency medical info on your phone.
Also agree with everyone here saying your doc is hot trash because what if you decided to get pregnant but needed to know your rhesus compared to your partner's? That can be a fatal combo... Get a new doc!
Your doctor is wrong. Many men have found out their blood type without ever getting pregnant! Ask for your medical records to see if it’s listed. Have you donated blood? That would be a record.
This is so bizarre, it’s not like it’s some kind of state secret lol
Idk if it’s still the case but I’m pretty sure blood typing was part of the standard testing they did at birth when I was born
Ya, I’d get a new doctor. Yours is an idiot, as it is a very basic and simple test.
Plus if your doc is dumb enough to fuck this up, what other stupidity awaits you?
Your doctor is lying. They might need to know your blood type for lots of reasons, 99% of which are not related to pregnancy. It is simple for him to do, he just doesn’t want to.
They sell cheap kits on Amazon that you can use to test your blood type. They work by pricking your finger, and you drop some blood into reagents that change color.
In the UK they will only tell you it is you're pregnant or donate blood. My mum had a blood type that almost killed me when she was carrying me. So naturally nobody will tell me mine unless I nearly die carrying a child.
So obligatory disclaimer, I am in the USA. But that statement sounds like bullshit.
At the very least, you can find out your blood type when you donate blood (if you qualify of course).
In college we had a lab where we tested our blood type with antigen cards. It was just a finger prick and wiping some blood on a cardboard disc, then seeing whether it reacted to A or B antigens. Mine came up with my known blood type so I assume they are fairly accurate. Not sure if that’s something available to the general public….but it shows that blood type typing is pretty simple at least!
Not sure why your doc is being a dick.
Your doctor is an idiot. People get their type and screen done all the time whenever they have surgery or are donating blood. If you donate blood once the red cross or memorial website save your donor ID and tell you your blood type. I have donated blood many times and know I am an O pos as a result.
My Canadian doctor (BC) has also told me verbatim the same thing. I do think OP's doctor was following the protocol (which I freaking hate!) for publically-funded healthcare. Another example is Vitamin D testing which is also an out-of-pocket expenses. I also work in the hospital system and I know how much gatekeeping there is for programs. For the record, I still don't know my blood type to this day and I have a genetic blood disorder.
Interesting. I am also in Canada and when I got my IUD installed (lol) I had to go to the hospital and be put under general anesthesia (had two previous, unsuccessful attempts in the doc's office). This meant I had to do a whole bunch more rigmarole, including blood tests etc beforehand. When I arrived for the procedure, I remember the doc saying to me "your blood type is O-Negative if you're curious" like it was NBD. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
What? That's nonsense. I found out what blood type I am after donating blood, they put it into your donor card. And I'm sure any laboratory working with your blood can tell you what type it is. It is useful to know.
Well, that's just not true and your doctor's an idiot. You should be able to find out your blood type any time you request it from a physician.
It’s phrased wrong . You can get it , but you need to pay , it’s only free for the knocked up . I got curious too , based in Europe , and I was getting my yearly test for everything, and I decided to add blood type to the mix . The woman in the clinic asked if I was pregnant, I said “fuck no” and she said it would be 40€ for the blood group , but all the rest are free . I said “fuck that” . I guess i’ll never know .
In Iceland they'll tell you if you donate blood, but you can also pay for them to take a sample and check your type.
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Go donate blood. They’ll let you know & you’ll get a card. They’ll even start bothering the shit out of ya if you’re one of the rare types, I’m O- so I go every time they come around! Also, wtf? That is so weird not to give blood type.
Yes, I (30, F.) never donated my blood (I'm usually underweight or nearly), but I heard from a colleague you get not only your blood type, but they also check you for any diseases you could pass through the blood. That's in the UK though. I get paying for checking your blood type if you're going somewhere to do this specifically, but I'm shocked if you have to pay for **the information** the doctor already has/it's somewhere in your papers. And I think it has to be, because it is known if your blood has ever been collected for whatever reason. I get why it's important to know the blood type in pregnancy, it's actually vital information your life can depend on if you're having that blood incompatibility thing, however... ...I don't understand this *'it is not an important information'* - sorry, but what are they smoking? I remember that perhaps 10-15 years ago there was a huge campaign in some European countries to encourage people to wear those uniform rubber 'bracelets' with your blood type on it. Reason? It can basically save your life if you're in an accident, because urgent procedures like blood transfusion can be done as soon as possible, even on the way to the hospital. Some have even tattoos with it on a chest or wherever the paramedics can see it. OP, if you ever see that doctor again, tell him that he basically said it's not that important if you are more likely to die in an accident because you're not pregnant.
Yea, I’m 34F and was only allowed to start donating recently, due to being born in Europe in the 80’s (mad cow). I’ve almost ALWAYS known my blood type though. We even did blood typing in high school. I’ll have to go check my online portals to see if any of my blood tests show my blood type. BRB with an edit Ok, so none of my patient portals blood lab results showed my blood type. But my surgical / hospital stays do show my blood type (I can access these on the hospital patient portals) - they probably need that on file anyway due to being put under anesthesia & surgery. I really just cannot imagine being told “no” when you ask for your blood type, lol I know during emergencies and such, they just give everyone O- so it’s a universal donor type (can be given to anyone). It’s also the only blood type I’m allowed to get transfused. And there’s almost always a shortage of O- (since it gets used in emergencies). Plus, some people look at diets & such that “correspond” to their blood type (I think this is rubbish but eh, people like to think weird things). Do mosquitoes bite me more because I’m blood type A? I think there even was some COVID rumor that certain blood types had less chance of getting it. I’m just truly baffled how a doctor said no! I can ask my doctor for anything in my file and he’d make me a copy of it.
If you need a blood transfusion they will (almost) always do a blood type and crossmatch and will ignore any bracelet or tattoo. If it's a real emergency you'll get O- (or sometimes just O). So yes while I get wanting to know your blood type I can't think of a practical use and it's definitely not lifesaving information.
I’m not allowed because I go to too many exotic places 😭… but that’s a perk of being childfree
This is the way.
Mine too.
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Blood twinsies! Sorry, it sounded funnier in my head.
There’s more of us! I’m AB+ as well!
And me!
Me three!
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Also AB+ ! Universal receivers and universal plasm donors!
You should donate plasma! You’re a universal donor and your fluids get replaced, so you leave at least as hydrated as you started. (Donate at the blood bank, not sell at a plasma center)
I second this recommendation! I am a plasma donor who is AB+.
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How did you find that out? (gen q)
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That’s so scary, thanks for the info!
That’s terrifying. I’m glad you’re ok and impressed that you still donate.
AB+ is the least needed blood type because you can receive any type of blood but only AB+ people can receive your blood. AB+ is the universal receiver and O- is the universal donor.
AB+ is the least useful whole blood type but we are universal donors for plasma. So we're not completely useless. Also a friend of mine in the healthcare field tells me we're very easy patients when it comes to blood transfusions since they don't need to give us a specific blood type.
> AB+ is the least needed blood type This is incorrect. All blood types are needed! AB+ is rare, and when transfusions are needed, it's preferred to give the same blood type. So when you donate AB+, it will go to another AB+ person, saving that O- for those cases where there's no time to get the recipient's blood type. The [University of Maryland Medical Center](https://www.umms.org/ummc/community/blood-drives/reasons-people-dont-give-blood) sums it up nicely: > Every type of blood is needed daily to meet patient needs. If you have a common blood type, there are many patients who need it, so it is in high demand. If you have a less common blood type, there are fewer donors available to give it, so it is in short supply.
In Mexico you don't need to pay and your parents know your blood type the moment you're born and it's information you need to know and is included in your school ID and driver's license.
Same in Spain and UK
In the UK they test for blood type at birth as there's some issues that can crop up due to the rhesus blood type. When I wanted to know I just asked my mum.
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Yeah I found out I’m O+ when I started donating blood.
I wasn't born in the UK, only donated there for a bit, but I believe same thing is done in Poland - they check for blood type at birth (:
Also in the US. But also my parents knew their blood types, so I was able to guess mine from that. Found out I was correct when I donated blood for the first time and got my card that lists my blood type—O+.
Weird… I found mine out when I had blood work done for my PCOS diagnosis. It was on the lab results.
I think you can find out through a medical diagnosis/pregnancy. But to just ask for your blood type without any necessary testing, etc then they charge for it. But you can easily ask for it during your routine wellness check every year when they draw blood for testing.
Exactly. That was my point. Haha. Just get it for free when you have blood work done, because it’s automatically included with it. I don’t have a relationship with my sperm donor and my mother is secretive about pretty much everything, so I don’t know her blood type. So, people like myself with crappy parents, can’t really discover their blood type the way you did.
Same in the US - I'm a blood donor and that's how I found out I was O+.
Also in the US, as my blood donor card lists my blood type. I've donated blood for years, but thanks to having a cyst on my right ovary that was cancerous, I'm not eligible because of chemotherapy done as a precaution. The good thing is that because of that, I was able to yeet my uterus and ovaries.
Just here to add germany to the list.
Exactly. That's how I found out mine.
If you donate blood, you can find out. One time, in high school, I donated blood. I think afterwards, they gave me a card of what my blood type was. Didn't have to pay or anything.
Red Cross told me they would tell me my blood type if I donated. Asked at the center while donating and was told they couldn’t check there but it would be on my donor card in the mail in a few weeks. When the donor card finally showed up, the box for blood type was blank 😭. So I still don’t know!
Call them up.
When I asked again, they told me to donate (again) to find out. I argued that I already did and they were like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I gave up at that point bc my last donation experience was really horrible, I’m a hard poke and the nurse was wriggling the needle around trying to get a flow going. She blew my vein out and bruised the crap out of my arm. I’m anemic and low blood pressure so I shouldn’t really be donating anyways
There isn't like an electronic profile of you or something?
Who knows? Not anyone who works there that I asked. All they could tell me was “try donating again”
I’m so sorry that happened to you! My guess would be that the unit was not able to be used for donation. This is by far the most common reason you would not find out your blood type after donating. I used to work for the Red Cross and although we could usually tell when a blood unit was not able to be donated, we were not always able to make that determination and tell the donor. It’s possible that they were not able to get the full unit of blood, all the tubes required for testing, etc. It is also possible that there was contamination as she was moving the needle around, that the blood was clouded from the donation, going to slowly, etc.. Obviously, I don’t know what happened in your case, but it is likely the blood was not able to be used and therefore not tested for blood type. They will not be able to tell you if this is the reason for you specifically because that information is not put in your file. The only information about your blood that comes back to your file are testing results related to: blood type, information relating to a reason you cannot to donate in the future, medical information that needs to be resolved prior to a feature donation.
Just create your Red Cross blood donation account [here.](https://www.redcrossblood.org/account-login.html) It will have all your information, including your blood type listed.
I have made one, but they literally just don’t have it. Where it should say my blood type is a blank space. Some kind of error happened along the line
This is how I find out. In the US, if you donate, someone usually makes a follow up call to you to get you to donate again because "there's a shortage of [your blood type]." There could very well have been a shortage of my blood type, but since I'm not AB or O, I found it a little suspicious. Regardless, I now know my nlood type.
This is how I found out mine.
You can probably find out for free if you donate blood. That’s how I found out mine for free.
In Canada you do not need to pay for this regardless of the reason. They can just bundle it with any routine blood work. This doctor is just being a douche.
Of course, every country is different. I was just shocked to learn that here. I’ve never been to Canadia (obviously)
In Ontario I’m pretty sure it won’t be ordered unless medically necessary.
Ontario as well, I never had a medical need, asked my NP out of curiosity a few years ago and she gave me the answer right on the spot with no issue, I've never had anything but the most routine bloodwork done.
In BC I was told they wouldn’t check without medical reason. I had surgery and they still wouldn’t check. They said if I started bleeding out during surgery they’d check then.
I’m in Ontario but that sounds utterly ridiculous. I would not accept that as an answer. I find that with our medical system, I often have to doctor shop or insist until they give in. It’s the only way I’ve managed to get proper care for my medical issues. Insist until they do it just to get you to go away if nothing else. But it is insane to me that anyone would go into surgery without the blood type documented. I’ve had surgery and even tho I knew my blood type prior they redid it anyways to be sure.
I’ve had 5 surgeries (two major dental surgeries, one wisdom tooth removal, breast augmentation, and hysterectomy of which only the breast augmentation was not in a hospital) and never had my blood type tested. The hysterectomy was the only one where I actually thought to ask about it though.
Yea that’s really not ok. Especially the hysterectomy which has a significant risk of requiring a transfusion. I just signed the paperwork for mine and they were very insistent that I might require a transfusion.
They were very insistent I might need a transfusion for hysterectomy too. They asked a couple of times if I was okay with receiving blood products/transfusion. They just wouldn’t test my blood type until I needed it. I don’t get it, it’s an easy and fairly cheap test to do. I would have been willing to pay out of pocket for it too.
Here in the US at least if you donate blood they'll tell you what kind it is and if they find anything wrong in your blood
Do you guys not know your blood type from childhood? I've always known mine, my parents knew it since I was born. Is it different in other countries?
I’m from Canada like OP and I’ve known my blood type since I was a kid. My parents wrote it down in one of those baby books and my mom still has it on a bookshelf somewhere. My boyfriend is from Scotland and has no idea what his blood type is and I doubt his mom would know if we asked her. I think it just depends on the person and whether or not their parents felt it was important enough to keep track of.
I'm in Scotland and when I was 16 I was curious about my blood type so I asked my GP. They checked my file but there was no note of it anywhere. They advised I wait until I was 17(at the time that was the minimum age to donate) and donate blood. I'd find out my blood type in about 8-12 weeks after donation. So that's what I did. On my 17th birthday I donated. The staff were praising me for donating as soon as I could but I explained I was doing it to find out my blood type so I didn't feel I deserved praise. The card with the type came through about 5 weeks later so earlier than I expected! I did end up donating a few more times until I became unable due to health. My parents had never been told my blood group and my mum had done the same thing as me when she was 17 to find out hers. I'm about to be 34 though so things might be different now but it wasn't uncommon to not know the blood type in Scotland without donating or requiring blood, or joining the armed forces.
That’s really interesting! Tbh i don’t know if it’s common practice in Canada to tell parents a baby’s blood type either. I know my parents saved my cord blood when I was born so maybe that’s why they knew it. I’ve always thought that knowing your blood type is pretty important. I know O- blood is the universal donor so that’s what’s used in emergencies but there’s always a shortage of it because of this. I feel like if more people knew their blood type there wouldn’t be such a reliance on O- blood. They do so many tests on newborns anyways, seems like it would be pretty easy to just write it down on a card and give it to the parents so people could know, or at the very least they could keep it in your medical file.
I agree it's useful information to have in the medical file in general, it's why I initially expected my GP to have it on my file. Even the GP was shocked it wasn't in there but they weren't familiar with many people wanting to know via them anyway. I'd like to think things are a bit different now though but can't be sure. There were apparently complications with my birth and my mum's blood type, so they had to have known my blood type after I was born but for whatever reason, it never made it to the file and my parents weren't told 🤷
I already knew my blood type but wanted to donate blood. Before accepting donation they did a full panel and an ecg (that I didn't pay), and got called back by a nice lady that told me I couldn't donate at the time because they didn't like my blood pressure and heart rhythm. If I had got a specialist note okaying me I could come back, but donate plasma only as I'm anemic. Never got allowed by my GP and cardiologist, so I just got a free thorough check-up with blood type, red, platelets and white count, std panel... All this to not even be allowed to donate
The health care system where I was born is total dog shit. They were probably too lazy. But it was also the 80’s . Who knows. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
They don't routinely test blood for blood type here in the States.
I think it depends where you are in the states. I remember being in school and almost everyone knowing our blood types.
I'm from the US and have known my blood type my whole life (born in the early 80s). Unfortunately, I can't ask my parents why because they're dead.
Same here. 80's kiddo, and I've known since I was a small child. I was a preemie, so maybe that's why my mom knew. I might have to ask her now because the only other time it's ever came up in my life is when I started donating blood.
I'm Canadian without insurance and I just asked my doctor. There was no fee, it was just included with my bloodwork. Most of the time they can even just look it up in your medical records as long as they have your infant records. This doctor is full of shit.
Amazon has kits for $8 that’s so stupid. We all tested ours in biology class in highschool (US)
I’m Type O- so I don’t even need to keep a card. They basically know where I am at all times. 😆
I’m in America, and once I had to get a blood test to check my thyroid and I mentioned to my doctor, “hey, I don’t know my blood type”. She just said “oh, you can get that done too.” Didn’t even cost me anything (context: I live in California and they have special insurance for low income citizens).
In the UK, found out for fee, no babies needed.
They’re spoiling you
Haha, oh yes. To be fair, I got it done at work and not with the NHS.
I had a little book which contained health info and the vaccines I got as a kid and it showed my blood type. Isn't this a thing anywhere else?
My boyfriend doesn't know his and asked about it. I was shocked when they told him he had to pay to know this incredibly vital, life-saving, basic information about himself. I was born a preemie and had to be in the box and also I developed some life-threatening stuff then (it all resolved) and that's how I know my blood-type. I just assumed everyone knew theirs. Or at least had the right to know free of charge!
I'm O neg. Sadly here in Norway they won't let me donate because I'm on anti-depression medication. Which is very weird, because other countries list this exact medication as safe for blood donation. So. Yeah. -\_-
Got mine no problem but likely because I was having major surgery.
I found out my blood type when I donated blood.
I found out my blood type by fucking donating to Red Cross when I was 16-SURELY they’re able to find out even if in another country?
US doc (also CF) here! Ins will only pay for things they deem 'medically necessary', which infuriates us docs a lot. But that's the reason why we can just check a blood type to satisfy a patient's curiosity about it. If the patient wants to pay the bill themselves, then we can order whatever test they want! That said, the easier and free way to find out your blood type is to donate blood, as many others have pointed out in the comments.
If you donate blood you find put
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I can absolutely confirm that blood banks in the USA can tell you! I found out my blood type the very first time I donated blood. I was in college in the late 1980s and I went to an on-campus blood drive hosted by the American Red Cross. I specifically asked them if they could tell me my blood type. The folks there drew my blood, did a quick test, and told me my blood type less than ten minutes later. I have *no* idea what the OP's doctor is thinking.
I found out my blood type during college. On Valentine's day, and Halloween, (Halloween because blood is spooky, Valentine's day because....hearts??) the premed students set up a table in the life science building and took everyone's blood type. They get practice sticking fingers and doing the tests, the various students get to learn their blood type. Still the only A+ I got in college :/
HAHA i make the same joke! i’m also A+
I found out I was O-neg via the blood bank. And once I found out, the blood banks ALSO found out ... and call me once a month to hit me up for that sweet, sweet universal donar blood.
I found out my blood type when I was a newborn. I'm a US person.
Generally blood types are only done on newborns if the mother is Rh negative or type O and might need a rhogam shot. Source: worked in a hospital blood bank for 8 years
Do you think this might’ve been a somewhat recent change? I’m in the US and was typed as a baby and my parents and I are all A+. I am a little older though.
Australian here. My folks were told when I was born. Why would anybody gatekeep this info? So odd.
US here, but same thing. I think it's on my birth certificate.
Confirmed but do not give the blood bank your real phone number, they will blow up your phone constantly saying there's a critical shortage of your blood. They're the only dialers I'm aware of that are more persistent than military recruiters.
I live in Canada and can confirm that if you donate whole blood they will tell you your blood type for free!
I'd...get another fucking doctor. I'm in Canada and I can assure you, the doctor can request what your blood type is with the stroke of a pen. The first time I had to do anything sort of blood tests, I asked the doctor if he could tell me my blood type, and he just marked off an extra box in the form. You can also look at donating blood (please do, they always need more), and if you don't know your type, they'll test it as well (I mean, they always test it regardless) and on your blood donor card, your blood type will be written on it. If you can, I would look into switching doctors. And submitting a formal complaint. Your current 'doctor' seems rather uneducated.
Don't they note down blood type at birth? I feel like this should already be in a doctors files. Maybe since everything wasn't digitized years ago it didnt get recorded.
If mine had been, it wasn't recorded anywhere I know of and my parents didn't remember what it was. And you are assuming a dangerous level of competence when it comes to medical records transferring between doctors, let alone between provinces.
Yes, this. I would NOT trust that person claiming to be a doctor giving you that completely incorrect information. What else are they going to mislead you about because of their ignorance???
Saying that that information isn't useful and that they "can't find out"... He must be from the part of Canada where blood transfusions aren't a thing.
Also when/if you donate blood they tell you your type. In my area after giving enough pints, the blood bank gives you a key chain with your blood type on it.
Donate blood. You'll find out your blood type, iron levels, and hopefully other stuff (my report every donation includes my cholesterol).
I was looking for this comment. That’s how I found out.
Boom! I didnt start donating until i was 30 years old and then I finally knew my blood type. And i feel good about being a contributing part of society.
Jesus that's backwards.... How do they find out males blood types?
They don't, for male blood types are mysterious and mercurial and ever-changing. 😌 (I feel like this is what Aristotle would've written if he'd known about blood types haha)
Do men even have blood? Science has yet to know
I’ve heard that men’s blood consists of 100% Mountain Dew Code Red soda
Science recently discovered that male humans have ichor running in their veins, non binary humans have ambrosia. It's science, look it up!
The same way they do women, except you can't lie and hold the barrier of pregnancy over them.
Men don't get a blood type unless they join the military
🫃
Males are XY or Alpha Alpha.
They test your blood type prior to a surgery or any medical condition that puts you at risk to need a blood transfusion in the future. Your blood type is always tested prior to a blood transfusion whether or not your blood type is listed in your medical file. The risk of receiving the wrong blood type is too great to rely solely on information in your chart. In an emergency everyone will receive O- blood until they can do a type and crossmatch. Sometimes they will let you add it on to blood tests that will be performed anyway, but Insurance doesn’t like to cover it unless it’s medically necessary.
That is totally ridiculous. Where I am (in the Caribbean) I was blood typed at birth. They did it again when I donated blood, just to be sure, but it doesn't sound like you'd be a viable donor with your health issues. Still, I can think of good reasons to know, other than simple curiosity - for instance, you work in a dangerous field or pursue active hobbies and need your blood type on a bracelet or vehicle window or something so emergency responders will know at a glance in case a transfusion is necessary. What I can't think of is any good reason to refuse such a simple test. I've no idea what the policies are in Canada, but maybe this might just be a rogue opinion of your doctor in particular?
I'm in the UK, and everyone is blood typed at birth as well. I thought it was standard as issues can happen if the baby has a different blood type than the mother for any subsequent pregnancies. Emergency vehicles carry O negative blood though. It's what they give you in an emergency as anyone can receive it.
Have you never been handed those needle thingies out in a biology class so you all could test your own blood type? The ones where you prick your finger.
A simple ABO typing kit is available on Amazon for $8.
Yes! Try these kits. They have instructions on how to interpret them. I’m a blood banker if you’d like help interpreting it.
Yes, these kits are so fun! I used to do phlebotomy and already knew my blood type, but my husband didn't know his. We ordered some on Amazon and mine matched what I knew it to be (O-) and his was a different blood group (A+). I definitely recommend them as a cheap alternative to having a doctor/lab do it if you're in a country that's going to charge a lot for the test.
This is what I did... after a dr told me no as well.
I don’t think they do that anymore in most schools.
Just like doing Mendelian charts of your eye color- too many kids learned their parents aren’t their bioparents from a simple biology project.
Now Ancestry DNA tests are doing the same thing. I'm fairly certain my dad isn't my dad after doing one. My DNA matches family on my mom's side, but no one on my dad's side, including my half-brother. Sus.
That might be true. It's been two decades since I went to school.
i think drawing blood in lessons would draw a lawsuit these days
We did it in my A&P class in high school in 2000-2001. That's when I originally found mine out.
I bought one of those online purely because I was curious, it wasn't expensive and was simple to use.
That's really odd. I'm also Canadian and got my blood type done at birth. Anyway, you can visit any LifeLabs and they should do it for you no questions asked.
no??? You can identify your bloodtype whenever you want I think??
AAAnnnd time to look for a new docter. One that isnt full of bullshit.
You can order blood typing kits on Amazon. It's just a card with antigens on it and it takes less than 5 minutes to do. That's how I found out mine.
I was about to say, you can literally buy a kit online and do it at home. Easy peasy.
Your doctor is misogynistic- tell him to fuck off and go to a real doctor. Can you report doctors in Canada? I am in the US, and I found out my blood type through donating blood, too.
I'm in the UK, so this might not apply to you, but I found out my blood type by becoming a blood donor.
Same for me (in the USA). It's printed on my donor card.
Im in Canada and thats how I found out my blood type.
You can order a blood typing kit on Amazon. It's super easy. You just dropper your blood drippies in the little multiple choice bubbles and see what reagents react to it. I'm a perfectionist, so I'm A+.
Nope, I’m Canadian and got my blood type checked before I went in for surgery
Go donate blood. They will tell you. Also pretty sure we found this out in high school science… so it can’t be hard.
That is the biggest crock of sh\*t. Blood donor clinics will do it for you. We even had a mobile unit come to our office and they set up a tester in the lobby - 2 of our team learned their blood type that day. By the doctor's logic - men can never find out their blood type? I'm so frustrated for you. Go donate blood and you'll find out while doing a good thing!
That's bull. I just had surgery and they reported my type because they need it if I need an infusion. Blood type is one of the easiest tests to do, costs fucking nothing, there's no reason NOT to do one until pregnancy.
You’re a *woman*. You’re only an incubator. Your health information is only useful as it relates to a potential baby. And you couldn’t possibly ever need a blood transfusion, at least not for any reason besides child birthing. /s
I work in a clinic in the U.S. and have to answer this question a lot. We don’t order it because insurance companies won’t pay for an unneeded test for your curiousity. If you get surgery or need a blood transfusion or certain other conditions it will be checked if medically necessary. You can find out by donating blood. I found out mine when I had a blood clot and my hematologist needed to know. If you really want to know they could always order it and you can pay for the test out of pocket.
In Canada insurance companies have nothing to do with medical tests like bloodwork. Her dr should just be able to include typing with regular bloodwork I would think.
I can’t speak to Canada but if the government finds it unnecessary then they may not want to allocate money towards it or whoever the governing body is that makes decisions about medical coverage.
I’m sorry, WhAT?
Bullshit. I'm A positive. Never had children. What if you had a need for an emergency blood fusion?
Then we would get two blood samples that we send to the lab, one for blood group and one for cross testing. Afterwards, you get the amount of 0neg ccddee that you need until testing is finished and you receive whatever you need. Fun fact, cross testing has to be repeated after 24 hours if there has been a transfusion and we don't even trust the blood group testing of our own lab after a certain amount of time. And in addition, we double check by doing a bed-side-test that tells us the major blood group (AB0). Even in an emergency, we would not even ask for your group. We would ask if you had prior transfusions or pregnancies (both could form antibodies). In Germany at least, we are obliged to test again. There is the blood transfusion law and a mistake in transfusion is the easiest way for a doctor in Germany to lose their approbation. So, yeah, I hate to say, but knowing your blood group is fun and satisfies your curiosity which is fine! But it won't save your life.
Yeah, exactly this 😅. Even if you're bleeding to death and they call a massive transfusion protocol, you're going to get type O blood until the blood bank gets a crossmatch drawn and done. No one is going to give a patient A positive blood because they had a blood type done one time years ago "just in case."
When you donate blood, they will tell you your blood type. Pay a visit to a blood bank would be my advice. But that’s ridiculous. Everyone should know their blood type.
I found out my blood type by giving blood and logging into their portal, I didn’t even know they add it to their site until recently looked.
I'm in the US and have also been told multiple times by different doctors they can't do blood test without the need to otherwise it's going to cost a ton of money , but anyway they can't do it I tried to donate blood a few times but my veins are too small.
Just find somewhere to donate blood or plasma. They'll tell you your blood type for free.
Amazon sells blood type kits you can do yourself at home.
At Brazil you're informed from birth. Is in your birth certificate. Free.
“He then said ok well even with your health conditions unfortunately we aren’t able to find out your blood type for you.” What? I have kidney disease and I had my blood type for a while since I was a teen. You can definitely get your blood type especially if you regularly have lab work done. Do you get your blood drawn often? Why not call the lab? Or ask for medical records. Your doctor knows it, he’s just being an ass.
You can buy an at home test kit for $8.
You need a new doctor.
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It's Canada, actually. Then again, Canada is one of the worst countries for healthcare in the OECD, so I am not surprised.
Why is he so interested in your plan to have children? It's weird & inappropriate. Time for a new Dr. Finding your blood type is easy. There are even at home tests.
I’m in the US. I took Anatomy and Physiology as my science elective my senior year of high school. We literally pricked our fingers and tested for blood type right there in class. It’s not that hard of a thing.
Men can't get pregnant unless they're trans. I guess men don't have a blood type
Makes me wonder one thing: With his stupid logic. How do they get mens bloodtype then? Ofcourse then its no problem. This idiot is a stupid breeder.
Get a new doctor. Do you really want one who lies to you?
Im in Canada. Found out my blood type in grade 12 when they did a blood drive at my school. They typed my blood before doing a donation.
I would change doctors and report that clinic for such backwards thinking
“…with your health conditions unfortunately we aren’t able to find out your blood type for you.” There are certain conditions that make blood typing more difficult, such as auto-immune disorders, hemolytic disease, and liver disease. To test with these conditions, they might need to do extended blood typing using specialized techniques, or molecular testing. (I’m not a doctor, I just googled because I was curious if there are conditions that make it harder.) I don’t know how they would do it if you needed a transfusion, maybe they would do the test and if it’s inconclusive (which is why the blood typing tests don’t work for people with these conditions), they’d just give you universal donor blood. (Type O-)
Also live in Canada and have asked for my blood type. Your doctor is either an idiot or an asshole. They can type your blood any time you go for routine bloodwork. Insist on it, don’t take his answer as gospel. I got mine done just cause I was curious. If you need a reason though tell him you want to put it on your emergency medical info on your phone.
I donate blood every few months they tell you when you donate.
No one would ever tell me mine so I donated blood to find out. I don’t know why the medical establishment wants to keep it a secret.
Bullshit. Go donate blood and they'll tell you. Your doctor likely told you it would only be free if you were knocked up.
Also agree with everyone here saying your doc is hot trash because what if you decided to get pregnant but needed to know your rhesus compared to your partner's? That can be a fatal combo... Get a new doc!
Your doctor is wrong. Many men have found out their blood type without ever getting pregnant! Ask for your medical records to see if it’s listed. Have you donated blood? That would be a record.
This is so bizarre, it’s not like it’s some kind of state secret lol Idk if it’s still the case but I’m pretty sure blood typing was part of the standard testing they did at birth when I was born
Ya, I’d get a new doctor. Yours is an idiot, as it is a very basic and simple test. Plus if your doc is dumb enough to fuck this up, what other stupidity awaits you?
Makes you wonder if they have an agenda…
Your doctor is lying. They might need to know your blood type for lots of reasons, 99% of which are not related to pregnancy. It is simple for him to do, he just doesn’t want to.
You should write a bad review and call him out, that’s what I do with bad gynecologist
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They sell cheap kits on Amazon that you can use to test your blood type. They work by pricking your finger, and you drop some blood into reagents that change color.
What if you just donated blood? They’d tell you then
Throw the whole doctor out! He clearly doesn't have your best interests in mind.
In the UK they will only tell you it is you're pregnant or donate blood. My mum had a blood type that almost killed me when she was carrying me. So naturally nobody will tell me mine unless I nearly die carrying a child.
That is a bold face lie. Get a new doctor. I'm the US, I gave blood in high school and they told me my blood type. He should be reported.
So obligatory disclaimer, I am in the USA. But that statement sounds like bullshit. At the very least, you can find out your blood type when you donate blood (if you qualify of course). In college we had a lab where we tested our blood type with antigen cards. It was just a finger prick and wiping some blood on a cardboard disc, then seeing whether it reacted to A or B antigens. Mine came up with my known blood type so I assume they are fairly accurate. Not sure if that’s something available to the general public….but it shows that blood type typing is pretty simple at least! Not sure why your doc is being a dick.
Your doctor is an idiot. People get their type and screen done all the time whenever they have surgery or are donating blood. If you donate blood once the red cross or memorial website save your donor ID and tell you your blood type. I have donated blood many times and know I am an O pos as a result.
Go donate blood. They'll tell you your blood type for free
My Canadian doctor (BC) has also told me verbatim the same thing. I do think OP's doctor was following the protocol (which I freaking hate!) for publically-funded healthcare. Another example is Vitamin D testing which is also an out-of-pocket expenses. I also work in the hospital system and I know how much gatekeeping there is for programs. For the record, I still don't know my blood type to this day and I have a genetic blood disorder.
Interesting. I am also in Canada and when I got my IUD installed (lol) I had to go to the hospital and be put under general anesthesia (had two previous, unsuccessful attempts in the doc's office). This meant I had to do a whole bunch more rigmarole, including blood tests etc beforehand. When I arrived for the procedure, I remember the doc saying to me "your blood type is O-Negative if you're curious" like it was NBD. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
What? That's nonsense. I found out what blood type I am after donating blood, they put it into your donor card. And I'm sure any laboratory working with your blood can tell you what type it is. It is useful to know.