ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Secretor status

Okay kiddo, so you know how we all have different parts of our body that make things like sweat, tears, and saliva? Well, some people have a special extra thing in their body that makes a substance called "ABO antigens". This substance can be found in their saliva, tears, and other fluids that come out of their body.

Now, the cool thing is that this "ABO antigens" substance can actually tell us some information about a person, like what their blood type might be. And this is where "secretor status" comes in. You see, some people have this "ABO antigens" substance in their body and it comes out in their fluids, while others don't have it come out in their fluids and it stays hidden inside their body.

So when we talk about "secretor status", we are basically talking about whether or not someone has this "ABO antigens" substance coming out in their fluids. If they do, then they are considered a "secretor". If they don't, then they are considered a "non-secretor".

Now you might be wondering, why does this matter? Well, it turns out that knowing someone's secretor status can be helpful in some situations. For example, if a person is a secretor, then we can use some of their bodily fluids to test for certain things, like their blood type. But if they are a non-secretor, we might have to use a different method for testing.

So there you have it, kiddo. Secretor status is all about whether or not someone has a special substance called "ABO antigens" coming out in their bodily fluids. It can be helpful to know for certain tests and situations.