ABO blood group system

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ABO !lood group antigens present on red !lood cells and $g% anti!odies present in the serum &he ABO blood group system is the most important !lood type system or !lood group system" in human !lood transfusion. &he associated anti'A anti!odies and anti'B anti!odies are usually $g% anti!odies, (hich are usually produced in the first years of life !y sensiti)ation to environmental su!stances such as food, !acteria and viruses. ABO !lood types are also present in some animals, for e*ample apes such as chimpan)ees, !ono!os, and gorillas.+,-

Contents
+hide

, #istory of discoveries . ABO antigens / 0erology o /., Origin theories 1 2onantigen !iology 3 &ransfusion reactions 4 ABO hemolytic disease of the ne(!orn 5 $nheritance 6 7istri!ution and evolutionary history o 6., ABO and 8h distri!ution !y country 9 Association (ith von Wille!rand factor

,: 7isease association ,, 0u!groups o ,,., A, and A. ,. Bom!ay phenotype ,/ 2omenclature in ;urope and former <008 ,1 ;*amples of ABO and 8hesus 7 slide testing method ,3 <niversal !lood created from other types, and artificial !lood ,4 =on>ectures ,5 0ee also ,6 8eferences ,9 Further reading .: ;*ternal links

[edit] History of discoveries

&he ABO !lood group system is (idely credited to have !een discovered !y the Austrian scientist ?arl @andsteiner, (ho found three different !lood types in ,9::A+.- he (as a(arded the 2o!el Bri)e in Bhysiology or %edicine in ,9/: for his (ork. 7ue to inadeCuate communication at the time it (as su!seCuently found that =)ech serologist Jan JanskD had independently pioneered the classification of human !lood into four groups,+/- !ut @andsteinerEs independent discovery had !een accepted !y the scientific (orld (hile JanskD remained in relative o!scurity. JanskDEs classification is ho(ever still used in 8ussia and states of former <008 see !elo(". $n America, %oss pu!lished his o(n very similar" (ork in ,9,:.+1@andsteiner descri!ed A, B, and OA Alfred von 7ecastello and Adriano 0turli discovered the fourth type, AB, in ,9:..+3- @ud(ik #irs)feld and ;. von 7ungern discovered the herita!ility of ABO !lood groups in ,9,:F,,, (ith Feli* Bernstein demonstrating the correct !lood group inheritance pattern of multiple alleles at one locus in ,9.1.+4- Watkins and %organ, in ;ngland, discovered that the ABO epitopes (ere conferred !y sugars, specifically 2'acetylgalactosamine for the A'type and galactose for the B'type.+5-+6-+9- After much pu!lished literature claiming that the AB# su!stances (ere all attached to glycosphingolipids, @aineEs group ,966" found that the !and / protein e*pressed a long polylactosamine chain+,:- (hich contained the ma>or portion of the AB# su!stances attached.+,,- @ater, GamamotoEs group sho(ed the precise glycosyl transferase set that confers the A, B and O epitopes.+,.-

[edit] ABO antigens

7iagram sho(ing the car!ohydrate chains (hich determine the ABO !lood group &he # antigen is an essential precursor to the ABO !lood group antigens. &he # locus is located on chromosome 19. $t contains / e*ons that span more than 3 k! of genomic 72A, and it encodes a fucosyltransferase that produces the # antigen on 8B=s. &he # antigen is a car!ohydrate seCuence (ith car!ohydrates linked mainly to protein (ith a minor fraction attached to ceramide moiety". $t consists of a chain of H'7'galactose, H'7'2'acetylglucosamine, H'7'galactose, and .'linked, I'@'fucose, the chain !eing attached to the protein or ceramide. &he ABO locus is located on chromosome 9. $t contains 5 e*ons that span more than ,6 k! of genomic 72A. ;*on 5 is the largest and contains most of the coding seCuence. &he ABO locus has three main alleleic forms: A, B, and O. &he A allele encodes a glycosyltransferase that !onds I'2'acetylgalactosamine to 7'galactose end of # antigen, producing the A antigen. &he B allele encodes a glycosyltransferase that >oins I'7'galactose !onded to 7'galactose end of # antigen, creating the B antigen. $n case of O allele, the e*on 4 contains a deletion that results in a loss of en)ymatic activity. &he O allele differs slightly from the A allele !y deletion of a single nucleotide F guanine at position .4,. &he deletion causes a frameshift, and results in translation of an almost entirely different protein that lacks en)ymatic activity. &his results in # antigen remaining unchanged in case of O groups. &he ma>ority of the ABO antigens are e*pressed on the ends of long polylactosamine chains attached mainly to !and / protein, the anion e*change protein of the 8B= mem!rane, and a minority of the epitopes are e*pressed on neutral glycosphingolipids.

[edit] Serology
Anti'A and anti'B anti!odies called isohaemagglutinins", (hich are not present in the ne(!orn, appear in the first years of life. &hey are isoanti!odies, that is, they are produced !y an individual against antigens produced !y mem!ers of the same species isoantigens". Anti'A and anti'B anti!odies are usually $g% type, (hich are not a!le to pass through the placenta to the fetal !lood circulation. O'type individuals can produce $gJ'type ABO anti!odies.

[edit] Origin theories

$t is possi!le that food and environmental antigens !acterial, viral, or plant antigens" have epitopes similar enough to A and B glycoprotein antigens. &he anti!odies created against these environmental antigens in the first years of life can cross react (ith ABO'incompati!le red !lood cells (hich it comes in contact (ith during !lood transfusion later in life. Anti'A anti!odies are hypothesi)ed to originate from immune response to(ards influen)a virus, (hose epitopes are similar enough to the I'7 galactose on the B glycoprotein antigens to !e a!le to elicit a cross' reaction. Anti'B anti!odies are hypothesi)ed to originate from anti!odies produced against Jram'negative !acteria, such as E. coli, cross'reacting (ith the I'2 galactosamine on the A glycoprotein.+,/&he "@ight in the 7ark theory" 7el2agro, ,996" suggests that (hen !udding viruses acCuire host cell mem!ranes from one human patient in particular from the lung and mucosal epithelium (here they are highly e*pressed" they also take along ABO !lood antigens from those mem!ranes, and may carry them into secondary recipients (here these antigens can elicit a host immune response against these non'self foreign !lood antigens. &hese viral'carried human !lood antigens may !e responsi!le for priming ne(!orns into producing neutrali)ing anti!odies against foreign !lood antigens. 0upport for this theory has come to light in recent e*periments (ith #$K. #$K can !e neutrali)ed in "in'vitro" e*periments using anti!odies against !lood group antigens specifically e*pressed on the #$K producing cell lines.+,1-+,3&he "@ight in the 7ark theory" suggests a ne( novel evolutionary hypothesis: that there is true communal immunity, (hich has developed to reduce the inter'transmissi!ility of viruses (ithin a population. $t suggests that individuals in a population supply and make a diversity of uniCue antigenic moieties so as to keep the population as a (hole more resistant to infection. A system set up ideally to (ork (ith varia!le recessive alleles.+citation needed#o(ever it is more likely that the force driving evolution of allele diversity is simply negative freCuency dependent selectionA cells (ith rare variants of mem!rane antigens are more easily distinguished !y the immune system from pathogens carrying antigens from other hosts. &hus individuals possessing rare types are !etter eCuipped to detect pathogens. &he high (ithin' population diversity o!served in human populations (ould then !e a conseCuence of natural selection on individuals +,4-

[edit] onantigen biology

&he car!ohydrate molecules on the surfaces of red !lood cells have roles in cell mem!rane integrity, cell adhesion, mem!rane transportation of molecules, and acting as receptors for e*tracellular ligands, and en)ymes. ABO antigens are found having similar roles on epithelial cells as (ell as red !lood cells.+,5-+,6-

[edit] !ransfusion reactions

7ue to the presence of isoanti!odies against non'self !lood group antigens, individuals of type A !lood group immediately raises anti'B anti!odies against B'!lood group 8B=s if transfused (ith !lood from B group. &he anti'B anti!odies !ind to B antigens on 8B=s and cause complement" mediated lysis of the 8B=s. &he same happens for B and O groups (hich raises !oth anti'A and anti'B anti!odies". #o(ever, only !lood group AB does not have anti'A and anti'B isoanti!odies. &his is !ecause !oth A and B'antigens are present on the 8B=s and are !oth self' antigens, hence they can receive !lood from all groups and are universal recipient. As far as transfusion compati!ility is concerned, unfortunately it is not strictly as simple as matching A, B and O groups. $n other (ords, no individual (ill ever receive a !lood transfusion !ased on the ABO system alone. &he rhesus factor must also !e considered. &ogether, the rhesus factor and ABO grouping are the t(o most important compati!ility factors to consider. An individual may !e 8hL or 8h'. %ore simply, if an individual is !lood type A and positive for the rhesus factor, then he or she is deemed "AL".

$ndividuals (ith type A' !lood can receive !lood from donors of type A' and type O' !lood. $ndividuals (ith type AL !lood can receive !lood from donors of type A', type AL, type O' and type OL !lood. $ndividuals (ith type B' !lood can receive !lood from donors of type B' and type O' !lood. $ndividuals (ith type BL !lood can receive !lood from donors of type B', type BL, type O' and type OL !lood. $ndividuals (ith type AB' !lood can receive !lood from donors of type A', type B', type AB', or type O' !lood. $ndividuals (ith type ABL !lood can receive !lood from donors of type A', type AL, type B', type BL, type AB', type ABL, type O' and type OL !lood.

Although those (ith AB !lood type may !e referred to as universal recipients, in actuality, type ABL !lood is that of the universal recipient (hereas type AB' is not. &his is an important distinction to make.

$ndividuals (ith type OL !lood can receive !lood from donors of type O' and type OL. $ndividuals (ith type O' !lood can receive !lood from donors of only type O'. Because A', AL, B', BL, AB', ABL, O' and OL individuals can all receive !lood from donors of type O' !lood, an individual (ith type O' !lood is deemed universal donor. 0imilarly, OL is not the universal donor !lood type.

One caveat to this a*iom of Euniversal donorE is that this applies to packed 8B=s, and not to (hole !lood products. <sing the first ta!le, type O carries anti'A and anti'B anti!odies in the serum. &o transfuse a type A, B, or AB recipient (ith type O (hole !lood (ould produce a hemolytic transfusion reaction due to the anti!odies found in the serum of (hole !lood.

2o anti!odies are formed against the # antigen, e*cept in those individuals (ith the Bom!ay phenotype. $n AB# secretors, AB# antigens are secreted !y most mucus'producing cells of the !ody interfacing (ith the environment, including lung, skin, liver, pancreas, stomach, intestines, ovaries and prostate.+,9-

[edit] ABO hemolytic disease of the ne#born

%ain article: #emolytic disease of the ne(!orn ABO" ABO !lood group incompati!ilities !et(een the mother and child does not usually cause hemolytic disease of the ne(!orn #72" !ecause anti!odies to the ABO !lood groups are usually of the $g% type, (hich do not cross the placentaA ho(ever, in an O'type mother, $g% ABO anti!odies are produced and the !a!y can develop ABO hemolytic disease of the ne(!orn.

[edit] $nheritance

A and B are codominant, giving the AB phenotype. Blood groups are inherited from !oth parents. &he ABO !lood type is controlled !y a single gene the ABO gene" (ith three alleles: i, IA, and IB. &he gene encodes a glycosyltransferaseMthat is, an en)yme that modifies the car!ohydrate content of the red !lood cell antigens. &he gene is located on the long arm of the ninth chromosome 9C/1". &he IA allele gives type A, IB gives type B, and i gives type O. As !oth IA and IB are dominant over i, only ii people have type O !lood. $ndividuals (ith IAIA or IAi have type A !lood, and individuals (ith IBIB or IBi have type B. IAIB people have !oth phenotypes, !ecause A and B e*press a special dominance relationship: codominance, (hich means that type A and B parents can have an AB child. A type A and a type B couple can also have a type O child if they are !oth

hetero)ygous IBi,IAi" &he cis-AB phenotype has a single en)yme that creates !oth A and B antigens. &he resulting red !lood cells do not usually e*press A or B antigen at the same level that (ould !e e*pected on common group A, or B red !lood cells, (hich can help solve the pro!lem of an apparently genetically impossi!le !lood group.+.:-

[edit] &istribution and evolutionary history

&he distri!ution of the !lood groups A, B, O and AB varies across the (orld according to the population. &here are also variations in !lood type distri!ution (ithin human su!populations. $n the <?, the distri!ution of !lood type freCuencies through the population still sho(s some correlation to the distri!ution of placenames and to the successive invasions and migrations including Kikings, 7anes, 0a*ons, =elts, and 2ormans (ho contri!uted the morphemes to the placenames and the genes to the population.+.,&here are si* common alleles in (hite individuals of the ABO gene that produce oneEs !lood type:+..-+./A

B A101 A," A201 A."

O B101 B,"

O01 O," O02 O,v" O03 O."

%any rare variants of these alleles have !een found in human populations around the (orld. 0ome evolutionary !iologists theori)e that the IA allele evolved earliest, follo(ed !y O !y the deletion of a single nucleotide, shifting the reading frame" and then IB.+citation needed- &his chronology accounts for the percentage of people (orld(ide (ith each !lood type. $t is consistent (ith the accepted patterns of early population movements and varying prevalent !lood types in different parts of the (orld: for instance, B is very common in populations of Asian descent, !ut rare in ones of Western ;uropean descent." Another theory states that there are four main lineages of the ABO gene and that mutations creating type O have occurred at least three times in humans.+.1From oldest to youngest, these lineages comprise the follo(ing alleles: A101/A201/O09, B101, O02 and O01. &he continued presence of the O alleles is hypothesi)ed to !e the result of !alancing selection.+.1- Both theories contradict the previously'held theory that type O !lood evolved earliest, supported !y the fact that all human !eings e*cept &ype hh" can receive it. +citation needed&he British 2ational Blood &ransfusion 0ervice states this to !e the case see the (e!' link under ;*ternal @inks !elo(" and says that originally all human !eings (ere type O.

[edit] ABO and 'h distribution by country

Country ABO and 'h blood type distribution by nation (population averages) *opulation[+,] OAB- ABO" A" B" AB"

Australia[+.] Austria[+/] Belgium[+0] Bra1il[+9] Canada[23] &enmar4[21] 5stonia[2+] 6inland[22] 6rance[27] %ermany[2,] Hong 8ong SA'[2.] $celand[2/] $ndia[20] $reland[29] $srael[73] etherlands[71] e# 9ealand[7+] or#ay[72] *oland[77] *ortugal[7,] Saudi Arabia[7.] South Africa[7/] Spain[70] S#eden[79] !ur4ey[,3] :nited 8ingdom[,1] :nited States[,+] *opulation"#eighted mean

.,,.4.,41, 6,.,:,.6, ,:,1,1,//4 ,96,5/9,.49 //,165,.:6 3,3::,3,: ,,.99,/5, 3,.3:,.53 4.,,3:,553 6.,/.9,536 5,:33,:5, /:4,491 ,,,44,:59,.,5 1,.:/,.:: 5,.//,5:, ,4,5,3,999 1,.,/,1,6 1,44:,3/9 /6,16.,9,9 ,:,5:5,9.1 .6,464,4// 19,/.:,::: 1:,3.3,::. 9,:39,43, 54,6:3,3.1 4,,,,/,.:3 /:5,.,.,,./

1:N /:N /6N /4N /9N /3N /:N .5N /4N /3N 1:N 15.4N /4.3N 15N /.N /9.3N /6N /1N /,N /4..N 16N /9N /4N /.N .9.6N /5N /5.1N

/,N 6N .N 9N 5N .N //N ,.N 4N 5N 6N /N /1N 6.3N 1.,N 5N 4N ,.3N /1N 6N ..3N 9N 6N .N /4N 5.4N ..3N 5N 4N ,.1N /5N 6N 1N 4N 5N .N /,N .:N 4N 1.3N 1.3N /N /6N ,3N 5N 1N 4N .N /5N 9N /N 4N 5N ,N /5N 9N 1N 4N 4N .N .4N .5N 5N :./,N :.,9N :.,1N .4.1N 9./N ,.4N 6.1N 1.4N ,.5N ...,N /:.9N 4.1N ..:N :.6N ,.,N .4N 9N .N 6N 3N .N /1N ,5N 5N /N 1N .N /3N 4.5N ..3N 5.3N 5N ,./N /.N 9N /N 9N 4N .N 1..3N 4.6N /.1N 4N 5.3N ,..N /.N ,3N 5N 4N 4N .N /9.6N 4.4N ..9N 4.:N 4.4N ,.,N .1N ,5N 1N 1N .N ,N /.N ,.N /N 5N 3N .N /1N 6N ..3N 9N 6N .N /5N ,:N 3N 4N 5N .N /5.6N ,1..N 5..N /.9N 1.5N ,.4N /3N 6N /N 5N 5N .N /3.5N 6.3N /.1N 4.4N 4./N ,.3N

,N ,N :.6N :.3N :.3N ,N ,N ,N ,N ,N :.:3N :.1N :..N ,N ,N :.3N ,N :.4N ,N :.3N :../N ,N :.3N ,N :.6N ,N :.4N

.,.4,,:.3,.11 /4.11N .6..5N .:.39N 3.:4N 1.//N /.3.N ,./9N :.13N total" [sho#]'acial ; 5thnic &istribution of ABO (#ithout 'h) Blood !ypes[,2]

(!his table has more entries than the table above but does not distinguish bet#een 'h types<)

*5O*=5 %'O:* A!origines A!yssinians Ainu Japan" Al!anians Jrand Andamanese Ara!s Armenians Asian in <0A ' Jeneral" Austrians Bantus BasCues Belgians Blackfoot 2. Am. $ndian" Bororo Bra)il" Bra)ilians Bulgarians Burmese Buryats 0i!eria" Bushmen =hinese'=anton =hinese'Beking =huvash =)echs 7anes 7utch ;gyptians ;nglish ;skimos Alaska" ;skimos Jreenland" ;stonians Fi>ians Finns French Jeorgians

O (>) 4, 1/ ,5 /6 9 /1 /, 1: /4 14 3, 15 ,5 ,:: 15 /. /4 // 34 14 .9 /: /: 1, 13 // 15 /6 31 /1 11 /1 1/ 14

A (>) /9 .5 /. 1/ 4: /, 3: .6 11 /: 11 1. 6. : 1, 11 .1 ., /1 ./ .5 .9 11 11 1/ /4 1. 11 /4 /4 /1 1, 15 /5

B (>) : .3 /. ,/ ./ .9 ,/ .5 ,/ ,9 1 6 : : 9 ,3 // /6 9 .3 /. // ,6 ,, 9 .1 9 ,/ ./ ./ ,5 ,6 5 ,.

AB (>) : 3 ,6 4 9 4 4 3 4 3 , / , : / 6 5 6 . 4 ,/ 5 9 1 / 6 / 3 6 6 4 5 / 1

Jermans Jreeks Jypsies #ungary" #a(aiians #indus Bom!ay" #ungarians $celanders $ndians $ndia ' Jeneral" $ndians <0A ' Jeneral" $rish $talians %ilan" Japanese Je(s Jermany" Je(s Boland" ?almuks ?ikuyu ?enya" ?oreans @apps @atvians @ithuanians %alaysians %aoris %ayas %oros 2ava>o 2. Am. $ndian" 2ico!arese 2ico!ars" 2or(egians Bapuas 2e( Juinea" Bersians Beru $ndians" Filipinos Boles Bortuguese 8omanians 8ussians

1, 1: .9 /5 /. /4 34 /5 59 3. 14 /: 1. // .4 4: .6 .9 /. 1: 4. 14 96 41 5/ 51 /9 1, /6 ,:: 13 // /3 /1 //

1/ 1. .5 4, .9 1/ /. .. ,4 /3 1, /6 1, 1, ./ ,9 /. 4/ /5 /1 ,6 31 , ,4 .5 9 3: .5 // : .. /9 3/ 1, /4

,, ,1 /3 . .6 ,4 ,: // 1 ,: ,, .. ,. ,6 1, .: /, 1 .1 .: .: , , .: : ,3 6 ./ .. : .5 .: 6 ,9 ./

3 3 ,: , ,, 3 / 5 , / / ,: 3 6 ,, , ,: 1 5 4 : : , : : , 1 9 5 : 4 9 1 4 6

0ardinians 0cots 0er!ians 0hompen 2ico!ars" 0lovaks 0outh Africans 0panish 0udanese 0(edes 0(iss &artars &hais &urks <krainians <0A <0 !lacks" <0A <0 (hites" Kietnamese %ean 0tandard deviation

3: 3, /6 ,:: 1. 13 /6 4. /6 1: .6 /5 1/ /5 19 13 1. 1/.9, ,4.65

.4 /1 1. : /5 1: 15 ,4 15 3: /: .. /1 1: .5 1: .. /1.6: ,/.6:

,9 ,. ,4 : ,4 ,, ,: ., ,: 5 .9 // ,6 ,6 .: ,, /: ,4.33 9.95

3 / 3 : 3 1 3 : 3 / ,/ 6 4 4 1 1 3 3.,1 /.1,

Blood group B has its highest freCuency in 2orthern $ndia and neigh!oring =entral Asia, and its incidence diminishes !oth to(ards the (est and the east, falling to single digit percentages in 0pain.+31-+33- $t is !elieved to have !een entirely a!sent from 2ative American and Australian A!original populations prior to the arrival of ;uropeans in those areas.+33-+34Blood group A is associated (ith high freCuencies in ;urope, especially in 0candinavia and =entral ;urope, although its highest freCuencies occur in some Australian A!origine populations and the Blackfoot $ndians of %ontana.+35-+36-

[edit] Association #ith von ?illebrand factor

&he ABO antigen is also e*pressed on the von Wille!rand factor vWF" glycoprotein,+39- (hich participates in hemostasis control of !leeding". $n fact, having type O !lood predisposes to !leeding,+4:- as /:N of the total genetic variation o!served in plasma vWF is e*plained !y the effect of the ABO !lood group,+4,- and individuals (ith group O !lood normally have significantly lo(er plasma levels of vWF and Factor K$$$" than do non'O individuals.+4.-+4/- $n addition, vWF is degraded more rapidly due to the higher prevalence of !lood group O (ith the =ys,361 variant of vWF an amino acid polymorphism in KWF":+41- the gene for A7A%&0,/ vWF'cleaving protease" maps to the ninth chromosome 9C/1", the same locus as ABO !lood

type. #igher levels of vWF are more common amongst people (ho have had ischaemic stroke from !lood clotting" for the first time.+43- &he results of this study found that the occurrence (as not affected !y A7A%&0,/ polymorphism, and the only significant genetic factor (as the personEs !lood group.

[edit] &isease association

O group compared to non'O group A, AB, and B" individuals have a ,1N reduced risk of sCuamous cell carcinoma and 1N reduced risk of !asal cell carcinoma.+44- $t is also associated (ith a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer.+45-+46- &he B antigen links (ith increased risk of ovarian cancer,+49- Jastric cancer has reported to !e more common in !lood group A and least in group O.
+5:-

[edit] Subgroups
&his section reCuires e*pansion.

[edit] A1 and A+
&he A !lood type contains a!out t(enty su!groups, of (hich A, and A. are the most common over 99N". A, makes up a!out 6:N of all A'type !lood, (ith A. making up the rest.+5,- &hese t(o su!groups are interchangea!le as far as transfusion is concerned, ho(ever complications can sometimes arise in rare cases (hen typing the !lood.+5,-

[edit] Bombay phenotype

%ain article: #h antigen system $ndividuals (ith the rare Bom!ay phenotype " do not e*press antigen # on their red !lood cells. As # antigen serves as precursor for producing A and B antigens, the a!sence of # antigen means the individuals do not have A or B antigens as (ell similar to O !lood group". #o(ever, unlike O group, the # antigen is a!sent, hence the individuals produce isoanti!odies to antigen # as (ell as to !oth A and B antigens. $n case they receive !lood from O !lood group, the anti'# anti!odies (ill !ind to # antigen on 8B= of donor !lood and destroy the 8B=s !y complement' mediated lysis. &herefore Bom!ay phenotype can receive !lood only from other donors although they can donate as though they (ere type O".

[edit] omenclature in 5urope and former :SS'

$n parts of ;urope the "O" in ABO !lood type is su!stituted (ith ":" )ero", signifying the lack of A or B antigen. $n the former <008 !lood types are referenced using num!ers and 8oman numerals instead of letters. &his is JanskDEs original classification of !lood types. $t designates the !lood types of humans as $, $$, $$$, and $K, (hich are else(here designated, respectively, as

O, A, B, and AB.+5.- &he designation A and B (ith reference to !lood groups (as proposed !y @ud(ik #irs)feld.

[edit] 5@amples of ABO and 'hesus & slide testing method

Blood group O positive: neither anti'A nor anti'B have agglutinated, !ut anti'8h has

8esult: Blood group B negative: anti'A and anti' 8h have not agglutinated !ut anti'B has

$n the slide testing method sho(n a!ove, three drops of !lood are placed on a glass slide (ith liCuid reagents. Agglutination indicates the presence of !lood group antigens in the !lood.

[edit] :niversal blood created from other typesA and artificial blood
$n April .::5 an international team of researchers announced in the >ournal !ature Biotec nology an ine*pensive and efficient (ay to convert types A, B and AB !lood into type O. +5/&his is done !y using glycosidase en)ymes from specific !acteria to strip the !lood group antigens from red !lood cells. &he removal of A and B antigens still does not address the pro!lem of the 8hesus !lood group antigen on the !lood cells of 8hesus positive individuals, and so !lood from 8hesus negative donors must !e used. Batient trials (ill !e conducted !efore the method can !e relied on in live situations. Another approach to the !lood antigen pro!lem is the creation of artificial !lood (hich could act as a su!stitute in emergencies. BB=.

[edit] ConBectures
&here are numerous popular con>ectures surrounding ABO !lood groups. &hese !eliefs have e*isted since the ABO !lood groups (ere identified and can !e found in different cultures throughout the (orld. For e*ample, during the ,9/:s, connecting !lood groups to personality types !ecame popular in Japan and other areas of the (orld.+51&he popularity of Beter J. 7EAdamoEs !ook, Eat "ig t #or $our Blood %ype suggests that these con>ectures persist. &his !ook claims that ABO !lood type determines oneEs optimal diet.+53Additional myths include the idea that group A causes severe hangovers, group O is associated (ith perfect teeth, and those (ith !lood group A. have the highest $Os. 0cientific evidence in support of these concepts is none*istent.+54-