Blood Inheritance

Inheritance of blood type is not a simple matter. Each biological parent donates one of their two ABO alleles to their child. While a person may have group "A" blood, he may have genes for both groups "A" and "O." If "A" group is dominant, the child's blood will be group "A." However, a person can give his/her children genetic material for either group "A" or "O." The same is true of "B" group. If both "A" and "B" genetic material is given to the child, the child will have group "AB" blood. A child with genes for "O" from both parents will be group "O." The following chart shows the possible blood types of a child as compared to the blood type of the parents. The word "possible" is highlighted since these combinations are only theoretical and subject to ones own family tree.