LC

Blood Typing

Blood Types

  • Blood Type A
  • Blood Type B
  • Blood Type AB
  • Blood Type O

Structure of blood

  • On the surface of most red blood cells, there are surface antigens
    • Type A RBC’s have A antigens
    • Type B RBC's have B antigens
    • Type AB RBC’s have A and B antigens
    • Type O RBC’s have no antigens
  • Between RBC’s, there are typically antibodies floating in the plasma
    • Type A RBC’s have Anti-B antibodies
    • Type B RBC’s have Anti-A antibodies
    • Type AB RBC’s have no antibodies
    • Type O RBC’s have Anti-A and Anti-B antibodies
  • The Rh factor is the presence of a protein on the RBCs of some people
    • A + Rh factor means that the protein on the RBC is present
    • A - Rh factor means that the protein on the RBC is not present

Methodology

  • Blood typing:
    • The mechanism of blood typing is through observing for the presence of agglutination
    • Agglutination is the clumping of blood
    • Blood is mixed with anti-serum for that specific type
    • Ex: If Anti-A serum is mixed with blood type A, the blood will agglutinate
      • This is because the Anti-A serum has A antibodies that attach to A antigens if they are present
    • Anti-D (or Anti-RH) serum determines whether the blood has a + or - Rh factor

Uses

Determining compatibility of…

  • organ donors and recipients
  • blood donors and recipients