Blood Transfusion
Learning Objectives To describe and explain the ABO blood grouping system To describe and explain the Rhesus blood grouping system To investigate a blood grouping problem practically
There are over 30 different types of system to identify and characterise blood but the 2 main systems are the ABO system and the Rh factor system Others include the Kell system, M & N systems, Lea & Leb system as well as many more
ABO System
Discovered by Karl Landsteiner in 1900 as a result of seeing patients react when blood was given to them Inherited trait from parents. Receive 1 allele from each parent from chromosome 9 (9q34) Blood group is determined by the antigens present on red blood cells
As well as antigens, antibodies are involved in the reaction. These antibodies can cause clumping or agglutination when blood of the wrong type is transfused into someone Antibodies are known as Anti-A and Anti-B. For a successful transfusion a recipient must not be able to produce Anti-A or Anti-B antibodies in response to a donors red blood cells If the recipient does produce Antibodies the recipient may experience an AHTR (acute Heamolytic transfusion reaction) which could be life threatening
People with type O blood are considered to be a universal donor as they do not possess A or B antigens so no reaction will take place People with type AB blood are considered to be universal recipients as they do not have any Anti-A or Anti-B antibodies present in their blood which could cause a reaction
Rhesus
In addition to the ABO system, the Rhesus system also types blood further The system was developed by Fisher and Race. It is the most commonly used system although others have been developed It relates to the presence of the D antigen on the surface of the RBC. Rh+ indicates the presence of the D antigen on their surface Transfusing with the incorrect RH factor may result in agglutination of RBC in the recipient
Blood Typing
When blood is donated it is screened for infection and then typed. The most common blood types are A, B, AB & O. We can see the antigens present on the RBC’s from the table below
In addition, blood is also typed for its Rh factor. Therefore blood is typed as A-, A+, B-, B+, AB-, AB+, O- & O+. Once the blood has been typed it can be donated according to the table below
Practical
You are going to investigate the ABO blood grouping system using simulated blood Follow the instructions on the worksheet given to you. You must use a new toothpick for each experiment you do. Construct a table of your results and determine which blood types each of the patients has Whilst there is no blood in this test, treat it as if you were handling blood
Results
Agglutination with Anti-A Agglutination with Anti-B Blood group John+-A Baby Matthew -+B David++AB Mary--O ABO Blood type
SampleAgglutination with Anti-Rh Rh Factor is Mary-Rh- David+Rh+ Baby Matthew+Rh+ John+Rh+ Rhesus Factor Results
PatientBlood type JohnA+ Baby MatthewB+ DavidAB+ MaryO- Which blood types could these patients receive with risk of rejections (AHTR)?