If both parents have type O blood, what is the probability that their children will also have type O blood?

If both parents have type O blood, what is the probability that their children will also have type O blood?

• A. 0%
• B. 50%
• C. 100%
• D. 25%

Answer: (C)

To understand why the probability that children of two type O blood parents will also have type O blood is 100%, it is essential to consider the genetic inheritance patterns of blood types. Human blood type is determined by the ABO blood group system, which includes three alleles: A, B, and O. Each person inherits one allele from each parent. The A and B alleles are both dominant, whereas the O allele is recessive. This means that a person with type O blood has two O alleles (genotype OO), as O is recessive and requires both inherited alleles to be O for this blood type to be expressed. When both parents have type O blood, their genotypes can only be OO. When these two parents have children, each child can only inherit one O allele from each parent. Therefore, the genetic combination for every child would be OO. This results in all children having type O blood, leading to a probability of 100% that children from two type O parents will also have type O blood. This is a clear illustration of a simple Mendelian inheritance pattern where both parents contribute the recessive alleles exclusively, resulting in offspring that exhibit the same recessive trait.

To understand why the probability that children of two type O blood parents will also have type O blood is 100%, it is essential to consider the genetic inheritance patterns of blood types.

Human blood type is determined by the ABO blood group system, which includes three alleles: A, B, and O. Each person inherits one allele from each parent. The A and B alleles are both dominant, whereas the O allele is recessive. This means that a person with type O blood has two O alleles (genotype OO), as O is recessive and requires both inherited alleles to be O for this blood type to be expressed.

When both parents have type O blood, their genotypes can only be OO. When these two parents have children, each child can only inherit one O allele from each parent. Therefore, the genetic combination for every child would be OO.

This results in all children having type O blood, leading to a probability of 100% that children from two type O parents will also have type O blood. This is a clear illustration of a simple Mendelian inheritance pattern where both parents contribute the recessive alleles exclusively, resulting in offspring that exhibit the same recessive trait.