BLOOD GROUPS
BLOOD GROUPS.
ABO BLOOD TYPE.
I know everyone must have heard about Transfusion or even took part in donating blood. However, you don't know what happens and the explanations about who can give blood to certain person and who cannot.
These are the Basic.
We have 4 blood types
Blood Group A, B, AB, and O
On the surfaces of red blood cells(RBCs) there are antigens which are means of RBCs communicating to each other. They identify themselves with flags called Antigens.
Blood Goup A has antigen A, B has Antigen B, AB has Antigens A &B and O doesn't have any antigens.
A creates an army against antibodies that they don't associate with, by fighting and killing it. This is the beginning of Agglutination or clotting if Transfusion is done
Blood Group A, produces Antibodies against antigens (b) because you don't identify yourself with (b)
Blood group B produces antibodies against Antigen (a)
Blood group AB do not form antibodies at all because if that happens, they'll end up fighting themselves and their own cells.
Blood Group O produces antibodies (a) antibodies and (b) antibodies.
On Transfusion.
Blood Group A therefore can receive blood from Blood group A, and Blood group O
Blood group B , will receive blood from Blood Group O
Blood Group AB, doesn't have any antigens, gas no army and can't target any of the blood types. Therefore can take blood from Blood group A, B, AB, and O. This makes AB the Universal Recepient.
Blood Group O can give blood to Blood Group A, B, AB , and O. This makes Blood Group O person a Universal Donor.
When you take a blood grouping test, I know you must have observed its written together with the Rhesus Factor either Positive (+) or Negative (-)
(We'll discuss about the complexities that comes during pregnancy on the Rhesus, especially for the Rhesus Negative Mothers on the next lesson)
It's called a Rhesus factor, because it was first identified in the species of monkeys which are called Rhesus Monkeys. Its nothing big.
Now if you are Blood Group A+, simply means that you have A antigens and you also have another flag called the (D), D being the Rhesus factor. Therefore 2 flags, The A flag and the D flag for the Rhesus positive.
If you are B- , simply means you have B antigens and you lack the Rhesus factor in your blood the (D). That means you have 1 flag, the B for the Antigen but you lack the one for the D. That simply means that you form antibodies against any blood that comes with a Rhesus positive, the D. Or to make it easier, you'll not receive blood from a Rhesus positive because the antibodies will recognise the D Antigen as foreign leading to agluttination or clotting. This means that B- will not recieve blood from anyone with any Rhesus positive.
I know this might be complicated but some will still understand.
If you've ever had an abortion, whether induced or Spontaneous and you decide to conceive again, ensure you disclose that information to your doctor because, kitakuramba!
Assume that on your Antenatal profile , they discovered that you are a Rhesus Negative mother. (Simply Blood group A-, B-, AB-, O-). You need to be attended in a high risk Antenatal clinic.
You also need to know the Blood Group of your spouse because if they are Rhesus positive, chances are the baby you are carrying might be Rhesus positive as well and you may end up losing that child because of Rhesus incompatibility.
In your first pregnancy, the one you lost, the baby you conceived from a Rhesus Positive Man, produced a rhesus positive fetus and being a Rhesus Negative mother produced antibodies against the Rhesus Positive and then kept memory. The memory helps the immunity to recognise any subsequent Rhesus positive blood in future in fetus and fight it. The first pregnancy is okey.
However the subsequent pregnancies with a Rhesus positive man, will cause the mother's antibodies attack the baby's antigen inside the uterus leading to hemolysis hence the name hemolytic disease of newborn. This baby can die in the process, lose the pregnancy etc.
If both parents are Rhesus Negative, or if its the man who's Negative, there's no problem..
If the previous history of other children you have, lost pregnancies, etc is shared, an Anti D injection will be given to prevent the attack by antibodies from the mother to the baby. If this information about previous lost pregnancies is hidden, you'll end up losing subsequent pregnancies in the process.
Then from there you'll start blaming it on the hate your mother in law has towards you, or what your great grandmother said about your piercing your ears, that's causing you misfortunes. .therefore, as you do that abortion and as you choose a spouse, check on Rhesus compatibility.
If you've ever had an abortion, whether induced or Spontaneous and you decide to conceive again, ensure you disclose that information to your doctor because, kitakuramba!
Assume that on your Antenatal profile , they discovered that you are a Rhesus Negative mother. (Simply Blood group A-, B-, AB-, O-). You need to be attended in a high risk Antenatal clinic.
You also need to know the Blood Group of your spouse because if they are Rhesus positive, chances are the baby you are carrying might be Rhesus positive as well and you may end up losing that child because of Rhesus incompatibility.
In your first pregnancy, the one you lost, the baby you conceived from a Rhesus Positive Man, produced a rhesus positive fetus and being a Rhesus Negative mother produced antibodies against the Rhesus Positive and then kept memory. The memory helps the immunity to recognise any subsequent Rhesus positive blood in future in fetus and fight it. The first pregnancy is okey.
However the subsequent pregnancies with a Rhesus positive man, will cause the mother's antibodies attack the baby's antigen inside the uterus leading to hemolysis hence the name hemolytic disease of newborn. This baby can die in the process, lose the pregnancy etc.
If both parents are Rhesus Negative, or if its the man who's Negative, there's no problem..
If the previous history of other children you have, lost pregnancies, etc is shared, an Anti D injection will be given to prevent the attack by antibodies from the mother to the baby. If this information about previous lost pregnancies is hidden, you'll end up losing subsequent pregnancies in the process.
Then from there you'll start blaming it on the hate your mother in law has towards you or what your great grandmother said about your piercing your ears, that's causing you misfortunes. .therefore, as you do that abortion and as you choose a spouse, check on Rhesus compatibility.
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