BLOOD TRANSFUSION
Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood into one's circulation. Blood is transfused through a tiny tube that is inserted into a vein through a small needle.
Depends on the needs of the patients, different components of blood are transferred. Red blood cells are needed if a person lost blood due to an injury or surgery and they're usually the most commonly transfused component of blood.
Agglutination is when red blood cells clump together. This occurs when the receiver's blood transfusion has antibodies that lock up with the antigens in the transfused blood. Agglutination can cause big clump of red blood cells which results in blood vessels become blocked and this effects greatly on the person's circulatory system. Red blood cells and crack open the vessels, leak out and eventually become very toxic outside of the body.
Depends on the needs of the patients, different components of blood are transferred. Red blood cells are needed if a person lost blood due to an injury or surgery and they're usually the most commonly transfused component of blood.
Agglutination is when red blood cells clump together. This occurs when the receiver's blood transfusion has antibodies that lock up with the antigens in the transfused blood. Agglutination can cause big clump of red blood cells which results in blood vessels become blocked and this effects greatly on the person's circulatory system. Red blood cells and crack open the vessels, leak out and eventually become very toxic outside of the body.
Transfusion involving the wrong type of blood can cause serious consequences. How to know whether a type of blood is compatible?
A person with a certain type of antibodies cannot receive blood from any other blood which have antigens of the same type. E.g. : blood type A which have antibodies B cannot receive blood type B nor AB because they both have antigens B. Blood type Rh- which is considered (!!!!! link to why) to have Rh antibodies cannot receive blood type Rh+ since there are Rh antigens on the surface of red blood cells of blood type Rh+.
Looking at the picture of compatible blood:
(a table : column 1: blood type. column 2: blood type that can be transfused)
- O Rh- is the universal donors (No antigens on red blood cells surface that can lock up with antibodies)
- AB Rh+ is the universal donors (No antibodies in plasma)
A person with a certain type of antibodies cannot receive blood from any other blood which have antigens of the same type. E.g. : blood type A which have antibodies B cannot receive blood type B nor AB because they both have antigens B. Blood type Rh- which is considered (!!!!! link to why) to have Rh antibodies cannot receive blood type Rh+ since there are Rh antigens on the surface of red blood cells of blood type Rh+.
Looking at the picture of compatible blood:
(a table : column 1: blood type. column 2: blood type that can be transfused)
- O Rh- is the universal donors (No antigens on red blood cells surface that can lock up with antibodies)
- AB Rh+ is the universal donors (No antibodies in plasma)
Compatible blood for each blood type
You need to know the person's blood type in order to perform the right blood transfusion. But what happen if it's an emergency and the person's blood type is unknown?
Real life application: Since there are no antigens on the surface in blood type O and who antigens Rh in blood type Rh- so blood type O Rh- becomes the universal donors. It's used in situations when patients need a transfusion but their blood type is unknown. O Rh- is the only type of blood that everybody can receive.
Real life application: Since there are no antigens on the surface in blood type O and who antigens Rh in blood type Rh- so blood type O Rh- becomes the universal donors. It's used in situations when patients need a transfusion but their blood type is unknown. O Rh- is the only type of blood that everybody can receive.