Blood Groups Impact Fertility

Fertility Among women undergoing fertility treatment, those with blood groups A and AB have an advantage

A recent study BY scientists from Yale has suggested that women with Blood Group O undergoing fertility treatment have more difficulty conceiving than women with other blood groups. The study was based on the measurement of Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH). Women with FSH levels over 10 are believed to have more difficulty conceiving than those who have levels below 10. A high level of FSH indicates low egg count and quality. Women are born with an egg reserve of about two million eggs, but this number declines with age.

A sampling of 560 women undergoing fertility treatment found that those with blood group O were twice as likely to have FSH levels above 10. The researchers also found that FSH levels were least likely to be above 10 in those with blood group A and AB, while blood group B was also likely to correlate well with higher levels. This is especially significant in India, where the prevalence of blood group O is 37 per cent and blood group B is 33 per cent of the population. 

While the research does not suggest how a blood group could influence fertility, one possibility is that different blood groups indicate different immune responses within the body. This would suggest  that those with group O should have more difficulty conceiving at any point, an idea not backed so far by research. However, there does exist a connection between blood groups and immune response, with some findings suggesting that men with blood group A are at higher risk of heart disease and certain types of cancers.

Also, recent  research carried out on sheep by scientists at Princeton University has suggested just such a link between fertility and immune response, sheep with better immune response being less fertile.

The connection for humans is far from being made, but even so the findings are stark enough that in the meantime we could soon see different approached to fertility treatment based on blood groups.

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Hartosh Singh Bal