Blood Type May Determine The Severity Of Coronavirus Cases

Researchers now believe that blood type is a determining factor for how severe a person's bout with COVID-19 will be.

As reported in the New York Post, geneticists in Germany, Italy, Norway, and Spain are discovering that a person's genes may point to a predisposition for severe COVID-19."Patients with Type A blood are 50 percent more likely to need oxygen or require a ventilator. Type O is associated with lower risk compared with all the other blood groups."

This was determined by using genotyping to study blood samples from 1,610 patients who needed oxygen or were put on ventilators when they got sick. The study also used samples from 2,205 people who were not infected at all.

Similar research was also done in China that also confirmed that patients with Type A blood would have more severe cases.

As of right now, this study, the COVID-19 Host Genetic Initiative, has 1,000 researchers from 46 different countries collecting DNA samples from patients who have had the virus. If successful, "researchers may be able to come up with marker tests that can help physicians assess the risk that patients might develop complications." As the New York Times adds, it may also help develop treatments for severe COVID-19 patients.