Too hard in my case it seems. My doctor refused to add ABO typing to a blood test I had today, I have tried the home test kits twice without success and I am permanently ineligible to give blood thanks to a nasty type of hepatitis I had in my 20's so I can't go to the blood bank.

The problem with the home test cards is that I cannot get enough blood out of my fingertips to do the test properly despite soaking them in a cup of warm water, letting my arm hang down for ages and stabbing my fingertips numerous times, I'm too good a clotter.

I'm open to all suggestions at this point..........

Drink a bunch of home brewed ginger water with lemon juice in it first, then try.

At one point I actually removed the pricking devices from the inside and drove it into my finger because I was so frustrated at trying to get enough blood out.

Try pricking a vein on the back of your hand. If you flex your hand you can get one to pop out.  

a real dilemma Sulis!!!!

however I can practically ascertain there s an A somewhere

Thanks for the suggestions guys   nice to know I'm not the only one who struggled with those damn lancets! Guess it'll have to be third time lucky with another one of those home kits although I might try slicing a finger open with a razor to ensure enough blood for the test this time  

Please say your were joking!

Wash hands in hot water, not warm water.

milk your finger (put the finger your going to use, between your thumb and fore finger (index)pull away from it, the whole tip should turn red, pick up the lancet, put again the side of it and press (have card already prepared)and drop onto each spot by letting the blood release and move on, remember to read directions ahead of time, at how to move the card, so it is going in correct directions.

Good Luck!

(or have someone else do it to you)
(or take with you and have doctor do it next visit)maybe dr will accomodate this)

Check your birth certficate.  I think they put it on there.

Here in Louisiana, they used to have our blood type on our licenses if we were an organ donor.  Not anymore though.

If you can't draw enough blood with a lancet, can you find a private lab who will do it for a fee?  Even if you can't give blood have you called the Australian equivalent of the American Red Cross.

Extra lancets from school, medical facility, or pharmacy really help. I wish the kits had spares.

You may want to read some on suggested places to hit with the lancet.

The fact you are are having hard time, may indicate you have thick blood that clots easily, a characteristic of type A.

I would not rely on that though.

If you can find out siblings and/or parent blood types you may be able to reduce the possible blood types.

It is sometime possible to only need to get one dot on the eldon card to distinguish between the two possible blood types a person could be.

Ethnicity can make some blood types pretty unlikely.

Even if you cannot find out what type of blood relatives have most people in general are type A or O so if one can just get the first dot on the eldon card you can make a probable determination.

If the first dot has clumping (I am assuming usual arrangement of dots on card),
you are either A or AB. But since AB is rare you are most likely A.

If you do not have clumping in the first dot you are type O or B. O is more common than B. But there is still some possibility of B-so if you can get the second as the first you can be more confident in the O determination.

Knowing Rh is nice (third dot), but its affect on diet is only slight. So if you cannot get a third drop you should let it go. It is most important for having children, and the medical folks are going to determine that if you are having children.

The control is nice-but I have never needed it.

I have sometimes had children freak out about the lancet, I have thought about giving parents the cards and tell them to get the 4 drops of blood the next time the kid hurts him/herself. I have not tried this approach.  

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If getting blood is too much of a hassle. You might want to consider doing genetic testing. This is typically saliva or a cheek swab.  More expensive than using eldon cards (but if you have to use a lot of eldon cards).

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Another offbeat/expensive way to determine blood type (that I am not sure will work for you in Australia) is to test use saliva secretor testing.

If there is a probable blood type start with it.

If not here is the procedure.

Test for O secretor.

If this comes back positive, you are an O secretor no further test necessary.

If this comes back negative you are an O nonsecretor or another blood type.

So need to test other blood types.

Test next for A secretor.

If this comes back positive, you are probably an A secretor but could be an AB secretor. Either assume you are a an A secretor or test for B secretor (to determine AB).

If this comes back negative you could be a non secretor or a B secretor,
so test for B secretor.

If B secretor test comes back positive you are B secretor.

If O, A, and B secretor tests are all negative you are a nonsecretor of unknown blood type.

thick blood... sound like and A... quite possibly a non secretor too..

I have seen this a few times.

Wish you where here I would do it for you!

Lemon and water is a natural blood thinner and A's need to drink this every morning 1/2 fresh lemon in a glass of warm water.

Quoted from Patty H

If you can't draw enough blood with a lancet, can you find a private lab who will do it for a fee?  Even if you can't give blood have you called the Australian equivalent of the American Red Cross.

May also be able to talk nurse or friend into poking finger and messaging finger to get the 4 drops out.

Most of the time nurses can get enough blood using a single lancet to determine my blood count (or other things), although it would take me more than one try with a lancet for me to get the blood. They have also had to use more than one lancet to get enough blood from me for simple tests.

I was wondering about the home tests this morning. Are they accurate. I had ordered one for myself but did not have to use it. Found my type in my sons Vaccine book from when he was born. Is it accurate and easy to use besides the bleeding part? I am passing my test onto a friend from the gym who is going to give the btd a try. I want to make this as easy for her as possible. I am hoping to witness someone else in the flesh that will get the results I have had.

Quoted from 10809

I was wondering about the home tests this morning. Are they accurate. I had ordered one for myself but did not have to use it. Found my type in my sons Vaccine book from when he was born. Is it accurate and easy to use besides the bleeding part? I am passing my test onto a friend from the gym who is going to give the btd a try. I want to make this as easy for her as possible. I am hoping to witness someone else in the flesh that will get the results I have had.

Most home testing kits use an eldoncard.

Eldoncards are quite reliable. Eldoncards are also used in clinics and hospitals to determine blood type using the same procedure that you do at home.

Try contacting the blood bank anyway. They might be willing to do the blood typing for you, for a fee, even if you can't donate blood.

Blood typing cards are accurate.

Find a new doc who will type you.. but you may have to pay out of pocket for it.

Technically stroking toward the heart increases blood flow to area the most. Do that before pricking, then you can "milk" to get it out, not to increase the blood flow to that area.

Quoted from geminisue

Please say your were joking!

Wash hands in hot water, not warm water.

milk your finger (put the finger your going to use, between your thumb and fore finger (index)pull away from it, the whole tip should turn red, pick up the lancet, put again the side of it and press (have card already prepared)and drop onto each spot by letting the blood release and move on, remember to read directions ahead of time, at how to move the card, so it is going in correct directions.

Good Luck!

(or have someone else do it to you)
(or take with you and have doctor do it next visit)maybe dr will accomodate this)

I tried squeezing my fingertip but got hardly anything, I really think I will need to make a cut next time!

Quoted from Andrea AWsec

thick blood... sound like and A... quite possibly a non secretor too..

I have seen this a few times.

Wish you where here I would do it for you!

Lemon and water is a natural blood thinner and A's need to drink this every morning 1/2 fresh lemon in a glass of warm water.

I have been doing the warm lemon water thing for months now and I drink at least two litres of water a dy, I'm religious about it!

If I'm an A I'm going to be in trouble with this diet as I hate tofu, fish and lentils wreak havoc on my stomach, I have always thought I was an O as I don't do well on high carb/grain diets  

Quoted from C_sharp

If you can find out siblings and/or parent blood types you may be able to reduce the possible blood types.

unfortunately no one in my family has a clue what type they are and blood typing is not put on your birth certificate in Australia as far as I know, it's certainly not on mine. I will have to rely on testing to find out.

Quoted Text

Even if you cannot find out what type of blood relatives have most people in general are type A or O so if one can just get the first dot on the eldon card you can make a probable determination.

If the first dot has clumping (I am assuming usual arrangement of dots on card),
you are either A or AB. But since AB is rare you are most likely A.

There was definitely clumping on the first dots on both cards   arg! not happy at being an A (if I am) as I hate vegetarian food!

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Quoted Text

Another offbeat/expensive way to determine blood type (that I am not sure will work for you in Australia) is to test use saliva secretor testing.

If there is a probable blood type start with it.

If not here is the procedure.

Test for O secretor.

If this comes back positive, you are an O secretor no further test necessary.

If this comes back negative you are an O nonsecretor or another blood type.

So need to test other blood types.

Test next for A secretor.

If this comes back positive, you are probably an A secretor but could be an AB secretor. Either assume you are a an A secretor or test for B secretor (to determine AB).

If this comes back negative you could be a non secretor or a B secretor,
so test for B secretor.

If B secretor test comes back positive you are B secretor.

If O, A, and B secretor tests are all negative you are a nonsecretor of unknown blood type.

I have purchased a secretor test kit but haven't used it yet, there is a lab here in Melbourne that does the testing so I will look into it.

You may well not be an A.




For me the A diet was not high carb/grain. In fact when I followed the BTD, I ate almost no traditional grains at all (Perhaps some rice twice a month or so when eating with others).

Some type As do okay with a moderate amount of traditional grains, but A nonsecretors often need to avoid many of the traditional grains. I did eat some things you may or may not consider grains: Amaranth, teff, quinoa. But I did not eat large amounts of them either.

As an A, I ate turkey, ostrich, lamb, goat, black beans, pinto beans, and a large variety of fruits and vegetables. I did not eat much lamb or goat, but some As can handle more of these than I can.

Thanks for your help everyone this board is turning out to be a goldmine of info so far  

I will try another home test kit but I will also contact the bloodbank here to see if I can get the typing done without becoming a donor (I'm ineligible because of hepatitis)

I did notice some clumping on the first dot of the previous Eldon cards I used and I'm a bit stressed at the idea that I could be an A as I have always had type O characteristics diet-wise i.e. I don't do well on wheat or high carbs and I can't tolerate lentils either.

I the past I have done really well on high protein, low carb diets especially if I stop eating sugar and I felt really well. I really want to improve my health now that I'm getting older so I was attracted to the BTD for that reason more than weight loss even though I am about 15 kilos overweight. I have had quite a few health issues in the past; ruptured appendix at age 13 with peritonitis, hepatitis (diagnosed as non A, non B in the 1980's), gall bladder removed in my 20's.

I'm looking forward to feeling healthier and hopefully the BTD can provide that

Quoted from C_sharp

You may well not be an A.

But for me the A diet was not high carb/grain. In fact when I followed the BTD, I ate almost no traditional grains at all (Perhaps some rice twice a month or so when eating with others).

Some type As do okay with a moderate amount of traditional grains, but A nonsecretors often need to avoid many of the traditional grains. I did eat some things you may or may not consider grains: Amaranth, teff, quinoa. But I did not eat large amounts of them either.

As an A, I ate turkey, ostrich, lamb, goat, black beans, pinto beans, and a large variety of fruits and vegetables. I did not eat much lamb or goat, but some As can handle more of these than I can.

I'm really curious to know what my type is now! I'm not surprised that I'm having trouble with this as I have been the exception in just about everything my whole life. I really like meat and feel that I do well on it and I do like veggies a lot as well although I was diagnosed with fructose malabsorption about two years ago so I have to avoid some fruits and veg but I'm ok with most of them in moderation. I'm down with Quinoa and Amaranth and I love rice too.

can t you simply walk into a blood donation center??
have them tell you and do good

Quoted from Sulis

There was definitely clumping on the first dots on both cards

I wrote my earlier response saying you might not be an A before reading the message with this note.

Clumping on the first dot would indicate of A or AB.

If you also react (clump/agglutinate) on the second dot, you would be AB.

If you did not get enough blood on the dot you may not see any agglutination.

But if you can see some clumping on a dot, you have enough blood and the blood is reacting and therefore should contain the indicated antigen.

Quoted from Lola

can t you simply walk into a blood donation center??
have them tell you and do good

Unfortunately I later found out that my initial diagnosis of non A, non B hepatitis was most likely hep C and although I have no evidence of infection and am not a carrier it still makes you permanently ineligible to donate in Australia.