Blood type predicts live birth in the infertile population

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.