Lab 21: Part 2 Lab Report

Name:____________________________________ Class Section_______

I know this is a "blood" topic, but the reaction that happens when you transfuse the wrong type of blood
into someone is an immunological reaction.

Use the blood power point to answer the following questions. Please use you own words to answer!

1. Why is Karl Lansteiner important to the field of medicine?

Karl Landsteiner is important to the field of medicine because he discovered the major blood groups and
developed the ABO system that has paved the way for blood transfusion in which he earned a Nobel
peace prize.

2. What happens when incompatible blood groups are mixed?

What happens is it leads to blood clumping up or the something called agglutination which can very
easily cause death. But what’s happening is red blood cells inside your circulatory system break down.

3. What is the biochemical explanation for why we have different blood groups? (not looking for a
genetics explanation here - looking for what the person has, or doesn't have chemically that makes them
the blood type they are)

4. List the four blood types of the ABO blood grouping system.

The four blood types of the abo system are A, B, AB and O.

5. You are born with the presence or absence of blood type antigens on your red blood cells, so you are
exposed to these antigens from birth. This allows the presence or absence of antibodies in your plasma
from birth. Complete the following chart, listing the four possible major blood types and the presence
or absence of specific antigens and antibodies in each.

Blood type Antigen Antibodies

A A B
B B A
AB AB
O AB

Typing Blood Procedure:

We put a drop of blood in each side of the slide.

To side A, we add Anti-A and mix.

To side B, we add Anti-B and mix.

Because we have added a known "anti-serum" to each side, if we see agglutination, then the anti-serum
that was added must have encountered the antigen they are designed to bind to, therefore that antigen
must be there and that is the identified blood type.

Look at each slide and indicate each blood type shown on each slide.

Slide 1 Slide 2

AB- B-

Slide 3 Slide 4

B+ 0-

6. Briefly, using your own words, explain the Rh (Rhesus) factor blood grouping system. (Make sure you
include what 'Rh' is actually referring to, what Rh + means AND what RH- means.) (Do not talk about
antibodies here. It is not part of the answer to this question.)

The Rhesus factor is a type of protein that can be found outside of red blood cells. Which like your blood
type is also passed down from your parents. But if our blood is Rh positive, you have antigens in your
blood or if its Rh negative you don’t have antigens.

7. Explain the potential clinical significance (that means how the Rh factor might cause or affect a
disorder or disease) of the Rh factor during pregnancy.
An injection of rh antibodies, RhoGAM, would cause the escaped cells to agglutinate. Also, if it is not
given in the 24 hours it can cause agglutination of the blood and possible death of the fetus. Another
significance is if the pancetta tears the rh cells can cross into the mother.

8. Why and when may RhoGam be given in relation to a pregnancy and birth?

Rhogam is given within 24 hours to pregnant women and the reason it is given to them is because it
does not damage the mothers rh-cells.

9. Briefly describe, using your own words, the consequences of transfusing the wrong blood type. (To
answer this correctly you must explain what is happening between the donor cells and the recipient
antibodies, what that interaction causes to happen within the bloodstream, and what the impact of that
is on the tissues which then leads to the symptoms of a transfusion reaction.)

What will happen is the red blood cells will lodge into smaller vessels in which the vessels can not get
oxygen supplied to them making them die. Also, Agglutination will occurs between the recipient
antibodies and the donors red blood cells.
10. What determines what blood group you have? (This question is not asking you how to 'type' blood,
it is asking why an individual person would or would not have A or B antigens on their red blood cell
membranes. For example: why does 'Type A' person have A antigens on their red blood cell
membranes?) (Think about it this way: Why does someone have naturally red hair, or blue eyes, or dark
skin, or lactose intolerance, or B antigens, or Cystic Fibrosis, or anything else?)

The blood group you have is determined by what you inherit from your parents.

11. Why is it important to "crossmatch" after you "type" blood before you give it to a patient? (Think
about it this way: If you have already confirmed compatibility of the ABO and Rh blood groups between
donor and recipient by typing, what else could go wrong? It's why you do the crossmatch. HINT: Are
ABO and Rh the only blood groups that exist?)

The crossmatch is helpful because it isn’t just if the type matches it also depends whether or not the
blood Is negative or positive which is tricky because it isn’t the same all across the board. so its just a
easy way to double check if you have a certain blood type you can receive a certain blood type.