Shame on Canadian Blood Services

Canadian Blood Services is a non-profit organization charged with the responsibility of collecting and managing the blood supply for Canadians (except Québécois). They have a website called What's Your Type: Find out what your blood type says about you ...



Here are the answers.

• Type A: So, you’re an A. You already know that having type A blood suggests that you are reliable, a team player and may benefit from a vegetarian diet*. Did you also know that anthropologists believe that type A blood originated in Asia or the middle east between 25,000 and 15,000 BC?



• Type B: So, you’re a B. You already know that having type B blood suggests that you are independent, a self-starter and may benefit from a wholesome well-balanced diet*. Did you also know that anthropologists believe that type B blood appeared between 15,000 and 10,000 BC in the Himalayas?



• Type AB: So, you’re an AB. You already know that having type AB blood suggests that you are organized, friendly and may enjoy a vegetarian or wholesome well-balanced diet*. Did you also know that anthropologists believe that type AB blood did not originate until 900-1000 years ago and came into existence when eastern Mongolian invaders overran the last of European civilization?



• Type O: So, you’re an O. You already know that having type O blood suggests that you might be competitive, goal oriented and a real meat eater*. Did you also know that anthropologists believe that type O is the oldest and most common blood type, originating in Southern Africa?

I bet there's lots of stuff there that you didn't know. I was particularly intrigued by the genetic data. Did you know that humans were originally Type O—the null allele? Only later did mutations arise that created the active N-acetylaminogalactosyltransferase enzyme (Type A).¹




Theme

ABO Blood TypesI was shocked to learn that Mongolians overran the last of European civilization in 1000 AD. I'm a bit of a history buff, especially European history, and this nasty little fact completely escaped my notice. How come the citizens of Western Europe didn't notice that they were overrrun by Mongolians? And how come the history books say the main Mongolian invasions were in about 1220 AD?

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1. All knowledgeable scientists agree that this is the primitive allle, present in all primates. Subsequent mutations created the null allele (O) and the B allele, which is a modified version of the wild-type allele. I assume that Canadian Blood Services must be in possession of very recent information that overthrows all those previous scientific papers.