Group A
Red blood
cell
Antibodies
Antigens
Group B
Group AB
Group O
The blue snowflake represents the
anti-b antibody while the pink
snowflake represents the anti-a
antibody. You will notice that the
antibodies that are present are the
opposite of the type of red blood cell.
However you will notice that the
antigens present in the blood type is
identical to the red blood cell type.
The universal donor is type O because everyone can receive type o blood because it does not
contain any A or B antigens. The universal recipient is AB because they can be given A, B, and
type O blood. If a patient is given blood that is incompatible to their blood type a severe acute
hemolytic reaction with hemolysis will occur. “The recipient’s antibodies attach to the donor’s
red blood cells and form bridges that cause the cells to clump together, or agglutinate” (Fox,
2009). Other complications can include renal failure, shock and even death.
The two diagrams above demonstrate how the different blood types in blood and plasma are
compatible. In the blood chart on the left you can see that while type O gives to everyone type
AB can give to no one. The chart on the right is plasma compatibility diagram plasma from type
AB can be given to A, B and O; plasma from types A and B can be given to O, while plasma
from O cannot be given to anyone.
http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/landsteiner/index.html link for blood type
game.
As a nurse I will be responsible to make sure that the patient is getting the proper blood type
during a transfusion in order to save the patient’s life and minimize the risks to the patient’s life.