Lutheran B Antigen

what is your blood type? o (rh-) blood type - purest blood & one ...

Humans have the following blood types along with their respective antigens and antibodies:

• Individuals with type A blood have red blood cells with antigen A on their surface and produce antibodies against antigen B in their blood serum. Using the blood compatibility chart below, for example, an A-negative person cannot receive blood except from another A-negative person or from an O-negative person.

• Individuals with type B blood have the opposite arrangement, antigen B on the cell and produce antibodies to substance A in their serum. • Type AB people have red blood cells with both antigens A and B, and do not produce antibodies against either substance in their serum. Therefore, a person with type AB blood can safely receive any ABO type blood and is called a "universal receiver", but cannot donate blood except to the corresponding AB type people shown in the blood compatibility table below.

• Type O people have red blood cells with neither antigen, but produce antibodies against both types of antigens. Because of this arrangement, type O can be safely given to any person with any ABO blood type. Hence, a person with type O blood is said to be a "universal donor" but cannot receive blood except from the corresponding O type people shown in the blood compatibility table below. Thus, for example, an O-negative person cannot receive blood except from another O-negative person.

Overall, the O blood type is the most common blood type in the world, although in some areas, such as Norway, the A group dominates. The A antigen is overall more common than the B antigen. Since the AB blood type requires the presence of both A and B antigens, the AB blood type is the rarest of the ABO blood types. There are known racial and geographic distributions of the ABO blood types [1].

The precise reason why people are born with antibodies against an antigen they have never been exposed to is unknown. It is believed that some bacterial antigens are similar enough to the A and B glycoproteins, and that antibodies created against the bacteria will react to ABO-incompatible blood cells.

Apart from on red blood cells, the ABO antigen is also expressed on the glycoprotein von Willebrand factor (vWF), which participates in hemostasis (control of bleeding). In fact, blood type O predisposes very slightly to bleeding, as vWF is degraded more rapidly.

Austrian scientist Karl Landsteiner was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1930 for his work in discovering ABO blood types.

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