WHAT ARE THE BLOOD TYPES • A BLOOD TYPE IS A CLASIFICATION OF BLOOD BASED ON THE PRESENCE AND ABSENCE OF ANTIBODIES AND INHERITED ANTIGENS ON THE SURFACE OF THE RED BLOOD CELLS WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF BLOOD THERE ARE TWO MAIN BLOOD GROUPS: • ABO • RH WITH THESE TWO BLOOD SYSTEMS THERE ARE 8 BLOOD TYPES: • O• O+ • A• A+ • B• B+ • AB• AB ANTIGENS SUBSTANCE THAT IS CAPABLE OF STIMULATING AN IMMUNE RESPONSE, SPECIFICALLY ACTIVATING LYMPHOCYTES, WHICH ARE THE BODY’S INFECTIONFIGHTING WHITE BLOOD CELLS. IN GENERAL, TWO MAIN DIVISIONS OF ANTIGENS ARE RECOGNIZED: FOREIGN ANTIGENS (OR HETEROANTIGENS) AND AUTOANTIGENS (OR SELF-ANTIGENS). ANTIBODIES A PROTECTIVE PROTEIN PRODUCED BY THE IMMUNE SYSTEM IN RESPONSE TO THE PRESENCE OF A FOREIGN SUBSTANCE, CALLED AN ANTIGEN. ANTIBODIES RECOGNIZE AND LATCH ONTO ANTIGENS IN ORDER TO REMOVE THEM FROM THE BODY. BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS