Baby Names

Blood ties: your baby's possible blood type

Which ABO and Rh types your child can have, and which combinations are impossible

Blood type is one of the few things in human genetics that can genuinely be calculated with precision: a single gene, textbook Mendelian inheritance. This calculator tells you which types are possible for your child and, more usefully still, which ones are simply impossible given the parents'.

Each parent's blood type

Father

Mother

Possible types for the child

O+O-A+A-

Impossible ABO types: B, AB. Rh shows both options because the exact genotype cannot be known from phenotype alone.

PDF report

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How the ABO system works

ABO blood type is decided by a single gene with three possible versions: IA, IB and i. IA and IB are codominant with each other — which is why type AB exists, carrying both at once — and both dominate over i, the version that gives type O.

That means someone with type A can have genotype IAIA or IAi, and the two look identical from the outside: the only way to tell which is by looking at their parents or children. That is why two type-A parents can have, with no genetic surprise involved, a type-O child: if both are hidden carriers of i, the i+i combination gives type O.

What IS a settled fact: impossible types

Even though a type-A or type-B parent's exact genotype cannot be known, it IS possible to know with certainty which types a child can NEVER have. Two type-O parents, for instance, can only pass on the i allele: their child will always be type O, with no exception possible within ordinary ABO genetics.

Here is the full table of what is possible — the same one blood banks use: O×O → O only. O×A → O or A. O×B → O or B. O×AB → A or B (never O or AB). A×A → O or A. B×B → O or B. A×B → any of the four types. A×AB → A, B or AB. B×AB → A, B or AB. AB×AB → A, B or AB (never O).

The Rh factor

Rh is a separate gene from ABO: Rh+ is dominant over Rh−. Two Rh− parents can only have Rh− children, no exception. But if one or both are Rh+, the child can come out Rh+ or Rh−, because an Rh+ parent can carry a hidden Rh− copy without it showing from the outside — the same hidden-genotype issue as with ABO.

It matters for pregnancy for a real medical reason: when the mother is Rh− and the baby is Rh+, the mother's immune system can react against the baby's blood in later pregnancies if left untreated. That is why every Rh− pregnant woman routinely receives an anti-D immunoglobulin injection — a standard part of prenatal care, not a warning sign.

About the 'this blood can't be from this father' myth

This worry circulates a lot and almost always comes from not knowing the table above: seeing a type-O child with a type-A father looks odd until you know that A×A can also produce O. Blood type can only EXCLUDE parentage with certainty — if the child's type is not on the list of possibilities for both parents — never confirm it: matching the table is compatible with a huge number of people, and proves nothing on its own.

If your child's result comes out as impossible on this calculator and there is no typing error involved, that is worth raising with a professional — not something to resolve on your own. The overwhelming majority of the time, the surprise is simply explained by not knowing one parent's hidden genotype.

Frequently asked questions

Can two type-A parents have a type-O child?
Yes, and it is ordinary genetics, not an error. If both are heterozygous (IAi looks identical to IAIA from the outside), each can pass on their i copy, and the i+i combination gives type O.
What types can my child NOT have if we are both type O?
Nothing other than O. It is the one unambiguous case in the ABO table: O is always homozygous (ii), so both parents can only pass on the i allele.
Can blood type prove who the father is?
No. It can RULE OUT parentage with certainty if the child's type is impossible per the table, but it can never confirm it: matching what is expected is compatible with the vast majority of men in that population.
Why do I get an injection if I'm Rh negative?
That is anti-D immunoglobulin, routine prenatal care when the mother is Rh− and the baby could be Rh+. It stops the mother's immune system reacting against the baby's blood in this or future pregnancies.
Can a child be Rh− even if both parents are Rh+?
Yes, if both are hidden carriers of the Rh− version. From the outside, an Rh+ homozygote and heterozygote are indistinguishable, just like with ABO.

Sources

  1. Landsteiner K. 'Zur Kenntnis der antifermentativen, lytischen und agglutinierenden Wirkungen des Blutserums'. 1900-1901.

    Original discovery of the ABO blood group system, the basis for the inheritance table used here.

  2. American Red Cross — 'Blood types and compatibility'.

    Public reference used to cross-check the ABO combinatorics table and the Rh explanation.

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