Going to the hospital when we are sick is kind of an easy practice for us and probably it is something we are used to but many hardly go to check for their blood groups. Some could probably be ignorant about its purpose.
When you walk through the streets of Kampala, all you see are busy people hunting for money. Well if you went ahead to ask some about pertinent issues of health you will find out that the level of ignorance among many is at its peak.
Across the street we met Semanda Solomon. The 30-year-old is one of those that have never taken time to find out what their blood group type is. He is oblivious of the repercussions.
“I do not know my blood group, I have not even spared time to check it out because I do not find it important,” Semanda said.
For some, they know this. They have made efforts to find out what their blood group types are since they are aware of how important it is.
Dr. Musinguzi Joshua notes that he rarely receives people that have come to test for their blood group type.
“It is not common, few people endeavor to check because they feel it is not important, unless some thing serious has happened to them,” he said.
He however weighs in on the matter. He says that many couples have lost their children because of the blood group incompatibility something that many have attributed to witch craft.
“We have cases where partners have different blood groups for example A+ and B- and their children die because these blood groups are incompatible, so they start fighting each other. And many have attributed it to witch craft,” Musinguzi added.
He therefore cautions everyone to take this seriously and take it upon him or herself to find out what their blood group types are.
“I caution everyone to check for their blood group types because still in cases where one gets a fatal accident and they require a blood transfusion it makes it easier for one’s life to be saved. But if the blood group type is not known, they can easily lose their life,” he said.
Our blood group is a collection of letters being one of, or a combination of, A, B, O. Each group can then be either 'rhesus' negative or positive.
So in total there are 8 possible blood groups and you will definitely be one of them:
A -ve or A +ve
B -ve or B +ve
O -ve or O +ve
AB -ve or AB +ve
Your particular blood group is dependent on your genes inherited from your parents.