Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of blood groups. It describes ABO grouping system, Rh system, and some other blood-group systems. It presents a table showing a division of blood into its four main Landsteiner groups—AB, A, B, and O, and showing the agglutinogens, corresponding agglutinins, and approximate distribution of each group. To group blood into one of the four main groups, it is necessary to perform in vitro (in the tube), a simple agglutination test. There is a further division of the ABO system that is important in transfusion. Group A blood may contain one of two agglutinogens—namely, A1 and A2; this divides group A and AB blood into groups A1, A2, A1B, A2B, and brings the total number of groups to six. The whole field of Rhesus groups is extremely complex. The Rh type is determined by certain chromosomes (structures within the nucleus of a cell), each carrying three genes (units responsible for hereditary characteristics). The need for correct Rh grouping is obvious and must always be carried out at the same time as ABO grouping. Apart from the ABO and Rh grouping systems, there are seven other major systems; however, these are not generally of clinical importance.
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