Beth writes: <The discussion is very interesting and seems to have engaged many on the list and that is a good thing. The discussion is a wonderful opportunity to learn new things and to share new learning. But we all need to check out the information for validity and reliability.> I couldn't agree more, and I never fail to do research! I mention the media merely to indicate the "common knowledge" aspect of science. One should always question the "dramatic claims" and "bold headlines". To wit, I offer the following: From my personal life story, I was married to a man of Polish descent who had B- or B+ blood, I don't remember which, but his was a rare blood type, so much so, that he could have sold it for about $100 per pint. But he never donated it to a place that would pay for it... Also, I offer you the following information from the Red Cross Blood Donor site: http://chapters.redcross.org/br/northernohio/INFO/bloodtype.html (I notice that there is a big difference between the 40% population who have O+ blood, and the much smaller 7% of population who have O- blood.) Almost 40% of the population has O+ blood Patients with Type O blood must receive Type O blood About half of all blood ordered by hospitals in our area is Type O Type O blood is the universal blood type and is the only blood type that can be transfused to patients with other blood types Only about 7% of all people have Type O negative blood Type O negative blood is the preferred type for accident victims and babies needing exchange transfusions There is always a need for Type O donors because their blood may be transfused to a person of any blood type in an emergency Patricia