03/03/2016
History of Blood Transfusions and Grouping
The first blood transfusion took place in 1667 where blood from a sheep was transfused into a 15 year old boy. However after an influx of patients dying from procedures like this it resulted in being banned.
The ABO Blood Group System is a vital blood group system for transfusions.
The system was discovered in 1900 by Austrian Scientist Karl Landsteiner who identified the first three types; A, B and O. In 1902 two Scientists Afred Von Decastello and Adriano Sturli discovered the fourth and last type; AB.
In 1940 the Rh factor was discovered after observing consistent bad reactions when blood was transfused. His is the ‘+’ and ‘-’ part of the blood group. So if you are A+, you have the Rh D antigen but if you are A- you don’t have the antigen.
There are actually more than eight blood types but that does not affect blood transfusions from human to human currently.
The Dangers with Blood Types
If given the wrong blood in a transfusion you can get an ABO incompatibility reaction, which is although rare nowadays, it can be serious and fatal.
During an ABO incompatibility reaction the red blood cells break down and cause blood clotting throughout the body. This can shut off blood supply to vital organs leading to a stroke then more serious consequences such as organ failure and bleeding out.
Although a very serious reaction, if treated properly and quickly, a full recovery should be the outcome.
In pregnancy it is very important to know both your ABO blood type and your rhesus status for complications can happen if your fetus has different blood stats to you.
For example if you are a prospective mother with blood type A- and the fetus is A+; your immune system can react to the antigen in the fetus’ blood causing the release of antibodies to fight against them, thus treating the fetus as a foreign invader to the body. This is known as a Sensitising event.
The outcomes of pregnancy where a sensitising event has taken place are:
• The baby suffers from anemia, which depending on the severity can lead to heart failure.
• The baby becomes jaundiced. Causing the liver to fail. (this is known as haemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN)).
• HDN can cause permanent brain damage and neurological problems like cerebral palsy.
However with effective treatment and diagnosis, HDN is now very rare and can be treated easily with routine injections and close monitoring.
While there is more to explore when it comes to blood types, knowing just your blood group and Rhesus factor can make a lot of processes easier. Blood grouping can be done in many ways, but the most common way is with use of a Blood Grouping Reagent kit, which sorts out blood by type.
