Blood group or blood type and Rh factor Blood group or blood type

Our blood is composed of blood cells and an aqueous fluid known as plasma. Human blood type is determined by the presence or absence of certain identifiers on the surface of red blood cells. These identifiers also called antigens, help the body's immune system to recognize its own red blood cell type. A total of 32 human blood group systems are now recognized by the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT). The two most important ones are ABO and the RhD antigen. They determine four main ABO blood type groupings: A, B, AB, and O. These blood groups are determined by the antigen on the blood cell surface and the antibodies (Immunoglobulin M antibodies)present in the blood plasma. ABO antigens are glycolipid in nature, meaning they are oligosaccharides attached directly to lipids on red cell membrane Many pregnant women carry a fetus with a blood type different from their own, and the mother can form antibodies against fetal RBCs. Sometimes these maternal antibodies are IgG, a small immunoglobulin, which can cross the placenta and cause hemolysis of fetal RBCs, which in turn can lead to hemolytic disease of the newborn called erythroblastosis fetalis, an illness of low fetal blood counts that ranges from mild to severe. Sometimes this is lethal for the fetus; in these cases it is called hydrops fetalis.

The discovery of blood groups

Experiments with blood transfusions, the transfer of blood or blood components into a person's blood stream, have been carried out for hundreds of years. Many patients have died and it was not until 1901, when the Austrian Karl Landsteiner discovered human blood groups, that blood transfusions became safer. Mixing blood from two individuals can lead to blood clumping or agglutination. The clumped red cells can crack and cause toxic reactions. This can have fatal consequences. Karl Landsteiner discovered that blood clumping was an immunological reaction which occurs when the receiver of a blood transfusion has antibodies against the donor blood cells.

Karl Landsteiner's work made it possible to determine blood groups and thus paved the way for

blood transfusions to be carried out safely. For this discovery he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1930.

ABO blood grouping system

According to the ABO blood group system there are four different kinds of blood groups: 1. 2. 3. 4. Blood Group Blood Group Blood Group Blood Group A B AB O (null).

1. Blood group A If you belong to the blood group A, you have A antigens on the surface of your red blood cells and B antibodies in your blood plasma. 2. Blood group B If you belong to the blood group B, you have B antigens on the surface of your red blood cells and A antibodies in your blood plasma. 3. Blood group AB If you belong to the blood group AB, you have both A and B antigens on the surface of your red blood cells and no A or B antibodies at all in your blood plasma. 4. Blood group O If you belong to the blood group 0 (null), you have neither A or B antigens on the surface of your red blood cells but you have both A and B antibodies in your blood plasma.

Type A+ O+ B+ AB+ AOBAB-

You Can Give Blood To A+ AB+ O+ A+ B+ AB+ B+ AB+ AB+ A+ A- AB+ ABEveryone B+ B- AB+ ABAB+ AB-

You Can Receive Blood From A+ A- O+ OO+ OB+ B- O+ OEveryone A- OOB- OAB- A- B- O-

According to above blood types, you can belong to either of following eight blood groups: A Rh+ A RhB Rh+ B RhAB Rh+ AB RhO Rh+ O Rh-

Rh+ blood can never be given to someone with Rh - blood, but the other way around works. For example, O Rh+ blood can not be given to someone with the blood type AB Rh -.

Blood Donors-since it can be life threatening to give the wrong ABO group to the patient.

Transfusion recipients-since we need to know the donor blood is ABO compatible. Transplant Candidates and Donors-ABO antigens are found in other tissues as well. Therefore the transplant candidates and donors must be compatible.

Prenatal Patients-To determine whether the mothers may have babies who are suffering from ABO-HDN. It is also beneficial to know the ABO group should she start hemorrhaging.

Newborns (sometimes) If the baby is demonstrating symptoms of Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn, the ABO group needs to be determined along with Rh and others.

Paternity testing Since the inheritance of the ABO Blood Group System is very specific, this serves as one of the first methods to determine the likelihood that the accused father is the father or not.

Rh blood system
Introduction The Rh (Rhesus) blood group system (including the Rh factor) is one of thirty-two current human blood group systems. it is the most important blood group system after ABO. At present, the Rh blood group system consists of 50 defined blood-group antigens, among which the five antigens D, C, c, E, and e are the most important.

This is the Rhesus (Rh) blood group system, which determines whether a blood type is negative or positive. The presence of the Rhesus D antigen decides whether you have positive or negative blood. The commonly used terms Rh factor, Rh positive and Rh negative refer to the D antigen only. Besides its role in blood transfusion, the Rh blood group system specifically, the D antigen is used to determine the risk of hemolytic disease of the newborn (or erythroblastosis fetalis) as prevention is key. Karl Landsteiner, an Austrian later American physician discovered ABO blood groups in 1900. . For this discovery he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1930. In 1940,

10 years after receiving the Nobel Prize, he made still another famous discovery. This was a blood group called the Rh factor, named after rhesus monkeys, in which it was first found. Unlike the ABO system, antibodies to Rh antigens don't develop naturally. They develop only as an immune response after a transfusion or during pregnancy. The proteins which carry the Rh antigens are transmembrane proteins

Rh Antigens -Rh-Positive and Rh-Negative People.

There are six common types of Rh antigens, each of which is called an Rh factor. These types are designated C,D, E, c, d, and e. The type D antigen is widely prevalent in the population and considerably more antigenic than the other Rh antigens. Anyone who has this type of antigen is said to be Rh positive, whereas a person who does not have type D antigen is said to be Rh negative. However, it must be noted that even in Rhnegative people, some of the other Rh antigens can still cause transfusion reactions, although the reactions are usually much milder. About 85 per cent of all white people are Rh positive and 15 per cent, Rh negative. In American blacks, the percentage of Rh-positives is about 95, whereas in African blacks, it is virtually 100 per cent. Rh Immune Response Formation of Anti-Rh Agglutinins When red blood cells containing Rh factor are injected into a person whose blood does not contain the Rh factor that is, into an Rh-negative person anti Rh agglutinins develop slowly, reaching maximum concentration of agglutinins about 2 to 4 months later. This immune response occurs to a much greater extent in some people than in others. With multiple exposures to the Rh factor, an Rh-negative person eventually becomes strongly sensitized to Rh factor.