Question

My friend claims he has a blood type of "Z 16" and after telling me the story of how he got it, it seems quite valid. Is there such a thing as a Blood Type Z?

Answer 1

A, B, AB, and O are the four primary blood groups (blood types). The genes you acquire from your parents define your blood group. Each blood type can be RhD positive or RhD negative, for a total of eight blood groups.

Complete answer:
A, B, C, F, J, L, M, R, S, T, and Z are the 11 primary blood group systems in cattle. The B group contains approximately 60 antigens, making it difficult to match donor and recipient closely. The J antigen is a lipid present in bodily fluids that is adsorbed onto erythrocytes (it is not a real antigen). This antigen is not present in newborn calves, but it is acquired within the first six months of life. Some animals contain only a little quantity of J antigen on erythrocytes and none in serum; if transfused with J-positive blood, these so-called "J-negative" animals can generate antibodies against the J-antigen and cause transfusion responses.
In cattle, neonatal isoerythrolysis is not a normal occurrence. NI outbreaks have occurred as a result of blood-derived vaccinations (e.g. against anaplasmosis, babesiosis). The A and F systems were the most often sensitised antigens in cattle.

Note:
Animal blood types are typed to help match donors and recipients and, in the case of horses, to identify breeding partners at risk of infecting their offspring with hemolytic illness. These approaches have also been used to substantiate pedigrees in cattle and horses because expression of blood type antigens is genetically controlled and the pathways of inheritance are understood; however, DNA testing has mostly superseded blood typing for paternity testing.