Blood type predicts live birth in the infertile population

Abstract

Purpose To determine if blood type in infertile women relates to the likelihood for live birth (LB) following IVF, and to the etiology for infertility. Methods Retrospective study of patients undergoing IVF at two academic centers in the northeast US. Relationships between blood type (A, B, AB, O) and patient characteristics, IVF cycle parameters and LB were assessed utilizing multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results In the studied population (n=626), women with type O were significantly more likely to have baseline FSH>10 IU/L after adjusting for age, BMI and race (OR 5.09, 95 % CI 1.4-18.7, p=0.01). Conversely, women with blood type A were significantly more likely to have ovulatory infertility compared to those with blood type O after adjusting for age and BMI (OR 3.2, 95 % CI 1.7-6.2). Blood type B was associated with increased likelihood of live birth (OR 1.9, 95 % CI 1.10-3.41, p=0.03) after adjusting for factors recognized to impact IVF outcome. Conclusion Ovulatory infertility and baseline FSH>10 IU/L were more prevalent in women with blood type A and O respectively. However, those of blood type B had significantly higher odds for LB compared to other blood types after adjusting for factors recognized to impact on IVF cycle outcome. While underlying mechanisms are unclear, for infertile women, patient's blood type is seemingly relevant for IVF cycle outcome.

Non-O blood group and outcomes of in vitro fertilization

“…Similar findings were found in women with idiopathic infertility with wide confidence intervals around the point estimates. When pooling current data with those from previous retrospective series [23,24], the summary estimate showed no significant effect of non-O blood group on the risk of live birth (OR 1.03; 95% CI, 0.90 to 1.19), with no between study heterogeneity (Fig. 1).…”

“…As hypothesized for other inherited thrombophilia, non-O blood type could increase the risk of thrombosis of the vessels at the maternal-fetal interface with potential negative consequences for implantation or development of the placenta. Two recent retrospective studies evaluated the effect of ABO blood type on live birth in women undergoing IVF [23,24]. In a series of 626 women at their first or repeated IVF attempt, Goldsammler and colleagues suggested that blood type B was associated with an increased likelihood of live birth [23].…”

“…Two recent retrospective studies evaluated the effect of ABO blood type on live birth in women undergoing IVF [23,24]. In a series of 626 women at their first or repeated IVF attempt, Goldsammler and colleagues suggested that blood type B was associated with an increased likelihood of live birth [23]. These observations were not confirmed in a larger retrospective cohort of 2329 women < 40 years undergoing their first IVF cycle with single embryo transfer [24].…”

“…However, cross-sectional investigations evaluating the influence of ABO blood type on ovarian reserve generated conflicting findings [19][20][21][22]. In addition, while a retrospective analysis suggested a potential effect of blood type on the odds of live birth [23], these findings were not confirmed in another more recent retrospective study that did not observe a significant association between ABO blood type and live-birth rate [24].…”

Association of ABO blood groups with ovarian reserve, and outcomes after assisted reproductive technology: systematic review and meta-analyses

“…One study has observed the relationship between blood group and IVF-ET pregnancy outcomes and found that blood group B is associated with increased live birth rate [ 7 ]. However, subsequent studies have confirmed that ABO blood group is not related to the IVF pregnancy outcome [ 1 , 8 ].…”