Blood Groups Part-2

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, but here I present you the second part of my article Blood Groups. In the last article we discussed about blood groups and also about the ABO system of blood groups. If you missed it then do check it out.
Blood Groups

So in this part we will discuss the RH factor and the ways for the transfusion of blood.So first let us see what is RH Factor.

RH Factor( Rhesus Factor)

Many people also have Rh Factor on the red blood cell's surface. This is also an antigen and those who have it are called Rh positive. Those who don't have it are called Rh negative. A person with Rh negative blood does not have Rh antibodies naturally in the blood plasma (as one can have A or B antibodies for instance).

But a person with Rh negative blood can develop Rh antibodies in the blood plasma if she or he receives blood from a person with Rh positive blood, whose Rh antigens can trigger the production of Rh antibodies. A person with Rh positive blood can receive blood from a person with Rh negative blood without any problem.

According to both blood systems there are a total of 8 blood groups. Do you know which blood group you belong to ??

Now let us see what happens when you donate or receive blood.

What happens when blood clumps or agglutinates ???

For a blood transfusion to be successful, both ABO and Rh blood groups must be compatible between the donor blood and recipient blood. If they are not, the red blood cells from the donated blood will clump or agglutinate. The agglutinated red cells can clog blood vessels and stop the circulation of the blood to the various parts of the body. The agglutinated red blood cells also crack and its contents leak out in the body. The blood cells contain hemoglobin which becomes toxic when outside the cell. This can have fatal consequences for the recipient. 

The A antigen and the A antibodies can bind to each other in the same way as the B antigens can bind to B antibodies. This is what would happen if, for instance, a B blood person receives blood from an A blood person.  

Blood transfusions - who can receive blood from whom ??

Of course you can give A blood to persons with blood group A, B blood to a person with blood group B and so on. But in some cases you can receive blood with another type of blood group, or donate blood to a person with another kind of blood group.

The transfusion will work if a person who is going to receive blood has a blood group that does not have any antibodies against the donor blood's antigens. But if a person who is going to receive blood has antibodies matching the donor blood's antigens, the red blood cells in the donated blood will clump.

People with blood group O Rh negative are called "universal donors" and people with blood group AB Rh positive are called "universal receivers."

Rh positive blood can never be given to someone with Rh negative blood, but the other way around works. For example, O Rh positive blood cannot be given to someone with the blood type AB Rh negative, but O Rh negative blood can be given to someone with AB Rh positive.