1. Blood Types/Groups
HST II
2008

2. Background: Until 1901, many patients who received blood died.
In 1901, Landsteiner discovered human blood groups (ABO) which helped blood transfusions become safer.
For this discovery, he earned the 1930 Nobel Prize in Medicine

3. Why is it important?
Blood transfusions – blood must be compatible or death occurs
Pregnant females – may cause problems with the baby if mother is not given shots to prevent antibody production
Organ transplants – ABO antigens are found on most organs; rejection of organ by the body if not compatible

4. Paternity testing – determines if alleged father could be true father
Crime scene investigations – helps identify victims and suspects

5. Terms:
Antibody- A special protein made by the body as a defense against foreign material that enters the body. It is uniquely designed to attack and neutralize the specific antigen that triggered the immune response.
Antigen- Anything that causes the body to launch an immune response against that antigen through the production of antibodies.

6. Blood Group Systems:
A person's ABO blood type--A, B, AB, or O--is based on the presence or absence of the A and B antigens on his red blood cells.
Inherited from parents
ABO antigens are present at birth
Antibodies against the antigens not present in the blood will develop within 6 months after birth and persist throughout life (i.e. Anti-A and Anti-B)

7. 4 ABO Blood Types A B AB O

8. Type A 40% of population Has A antigens on RBC surface
Has anti-B antibodies in plasma

9. Type B 11% of population Has B antigens on RBC surface
Has anti-A antibodies in plasma

10. Type AB 4% of population Has A and B antigens on RBC surface
Has NO antibodies in plasma
Universal Recipient (can receive Type A, B, AB, and O blood) because it has NO antibodies in the plasma

11. Type O 45% of population Has NO antigens on the RBC surface
Has anti-A and anti-B antibodies in plasma
Universal Donor (blood can be given to Type A, B, AB, and O) because it has NO antigens on the RBC surface
Can ONLY receive type O blood

12. Blood Types Blood Type Antigen (on RBC surface) Antibodies (in plasma)
Anti-A AB
A and B
None O
Anti-A and Anti-B

13. Genotypes (inherited blood type) /Phenotypes (what blood type it is called)
AA and AO are both Type A blood
BB and BO are both Type B blood
AB is Type AB blood
OO is Type O blood

14. ABO Blood System

15. Rh System Discovered by Landsteiner and Wiener in 1937
Discovered in the Rhesus monkey
Rh + has the antigens (84% of the population)
(also known as D antigen positive)
Rh – does NOT have the Rh antigens (16% of the population)
(also known as D antigen negative)
Rh + can accept Rh + or Rh – blood
Rh – can accept ONLY Rh - blood

16. Rh – mother and Rh + father can also develop Rh problems with having children. If the mother has a baby that is Rh +, her body will develop antibodies to the Rh antigen so that a second pregnancy with a Rh + baby will result in the mother’s antibodies attacking the unborn child’s RBCs. To prevent this, a shot of Rhogam is given shortly after birth to block the development of antibodies.

17. General Blood Type Distribution
O Rh-positive, 38%
O Rh-negative, 7%
A Rh-positive, 34%
A Rh-negative, 6%
B Rh-positive, 9%
B Rh-negative, 2%
AB Rh-positive, 3%
AB Rh-negative, 1%
Percentages of blood types vary by race; these are avg. % for all races combined

18. So what happens if a person is given the wrong blood type?
A transfusion reaction occurs!
Symptoms of transfusion reaction: chills, fever, rash, itching, SOB (shortness of breath), nausea, nephralgia (kidney pain), hematuria (blood in urine), shock and death.
All blood is tested for compatibility to determine that the donor blood will not react against the recipient's blood before transfusion

19. Rh Incompatibility
When a Rh – person receives Rh + blood in a transfusion, the person develops antibodies against the Rh + factor (Anti-D antibodies).
This becomes a clinical problem if they receive a second transfusion of Rh + blood.

20. Incompatible blood types can result in:
Agglutination – a reaction in which red blood cells clump together
Hemolysis- breakdown of red blood cells
Blood is tested prior to transfusion; if agglutination or hemolysis are seen, this indicates the blood is not compatible and is not given to that patient