When type O blood is barrier to having baby
05:55 AM Oct 26, 2010
DENVER - Women with type O blood could have more trouble conceiving as they age, an American survey claims.
The study is the first to suggest that a woman's blood group could influence her chances of getting pregnant.
The lead author, Dr Edward Nejat, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, said his findings were based on women having fertility treatment at the Yale University IVF programme and the Montefiore Institute in New York.
He is presenting his findings today at the annual American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) conference in Denver.
The survey of 560 women, whose average age was just under 35, found that those with the type O blood appeared to have a lower egg count and poorer egg quality than others. By contrast, those with type A blood seemed to have more and better quality eggs.
Dr Nejat said: "Those with type O blood were twice as likely to have an FSH level over 10 than those with blood types other than O. We found that women with the A blood group gene were protected from this effect."
Fertility experts regard a high "follicle stimulating hormone" (FSH) level as a key indicator of having a low egg count. FSH is produced by the body to stimulate the follicles in the ovaries that produce eggs. As a woman's ovaries run out of eggs in her 30s and 40s, production has to be stepped up to encourage more eggs.
The study also found that people with blood group A carry the A antigen, a protein on the cell surface, that is absent in people with O type.
These findings could lead to women with type O blood being advised to try for a baby earlier but experts said more research was needed before such a step was taken.
The study is the first to suggest that a woman's blood group could influence her chances of getting pregnant.
The lead author, Dr Edward Nejat, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, said his findings were based on women having fertility treatment at the Yale University IVF programme and the Montefiore Institute in New York.
He is presenting his findings today at the annual American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) conference in Denver.
The survey of 560 women, whose average age was just under 35, found that those with the type O blood appeared to have a lower egg count and poorer egg quality than others. By contrast, those with type A blood seemed to have more and better quality eggs.
Dr Nejat said: "Those with type O blood were twice as likely to have an FSH level over 10 than those with blood types other than O. We found that women with the A blood group gene were protected from this effect."
Fertility experts regard a high "follicle stimulating hormone" (FSH) level as a key indicator of having a low egg count. FSH is produced by the body to stimulate the follicles in the ovaries that produce eggs. As a woman's ovaries run out of eggs in her 30s and 40s, production has to be stepped up to encourage more eggs.
The study also found that people with blood group A carry the A antigen, a protein on the cell surface, that is absent in people with O type.
These findings could lead to women with type O blood being advised to try for a baby earlier but experts said more research was needed before such a step was taken.