If you took science classes in high school, your teacher would have taught you that AB negative is the rarest of the eight main blood types.

Well, that's true, but did you know that there's an even rarer blood type?

One in a million

Often referred to as the ‘golden blood’, it is the rarest blood type in the world. It is so rare, in fact, it could only be found in only 43 people in the world.

A Terengganu woman is one of them.

This has been confirmed by the Terengganu blood bank via a Facebook post earlier this week.


Image credit: Facebook/Derma Darah Terengganu Kite

The post, which included a photo of the woman donating blood, mentioned that the donated blood will be sent to the national blood bank in Kuala Lumpur, where it will be stored in a nitrogen-filled container at -80 degrees for 10 years.

According to the post, the woman is the only person in Malaysia to possess the Rh null blood type, so she is as special as she comes.

“If there is a patient who needs this type of blood, then this blood will be diluted for use.

“You are the special one, sis,” the Facebook post read.

What is 'golden blood'?

According to MedicineNet, the Rh null blood type is so rare because it does not contain any Rh antigens (proteins) on the red blood cell.

For people with normal blood types, our red blood cells have proteins called antigens on their surface.


Depending on the antigen present, we're divided into four main blood types: A, B, O, or AB.

And depending on whether if your antigen contains the 'RH-D' factor on the cells, the ABO system has a further distinction of Rh-positive or Rh-negative.

But for the Rh null blood group, the individual lacks all the Rh antigens, making it the most precious blood type in the world.

It was reported that the blood group was first discovered in an Aboriginal Australian woman in 1961.

MAIN IMAGE CREDIT: Facebook/Derma Darah Terengganu Kite & Malay Mail