The Discovery and Significance of the Blood Groups

Abstract

The authors of this book are Marion Reid, a well-known immunohaematologist, and Ian Shine, a geneticist. Marion Reid is co-author of several well-appreciated books, such as “The Blood Group Antigens FactsBook”. Ian Shine is also author of three books, including “Thomas Hunt Morgan: Pioneer of Genetics”, a biography of the great geneticist. “The Discovery and Significance of the Blood Groups” is divided into 15 chapters of unequal length. The first 12 chapters, comprising approximately 100 pages, are devoted to the discovery of the blood groups but also include a fascinating account of Rhesus haemolytic disease of the newborn, from the definition of the disease to the discovery of its pathophysiology, treatment and prevention (chapters 4 to 6, approximately 30 pages). The first chapter describes Karl Landsteiner’s seminal discovery and its background and includes, among other beautiful illustrations, a wonderful portrait of the young scientist. The second chapter (“Before the beginning”) starts with a fleeting account of the discoveries of Harvey and van Leeuwenhoek and continues with a brief account of the early attempts at transfusion. Other chapters are devoted to the Coombs’ test, the discovery of further antigens, the classification and nomenclature of blood group systems and their antigens, and the assignment of blood group loci to particular chromosomes. The topics of this section of the book are covered following their historical development. Many biographical annotations are interspersed throughout the text. Some of this material was collected by directly interviewing the protagonists. The last three chapters deal with the second main subject of the book, the significance of the blood groups, including the association between blood groups and disease, blood groups and immunity (briefly discussing conditions such as immune haemolytic anaemias, anti-PP1Pk and spontaneous abortion, paroxysmal cold haemoglobinuria, anti-Nf and formaldehyde sterilisation, altered antigen expression in various diseases, blood group antigens on immunologically important proteins or proteins involved in the inflammatory response), and the insight, provided by null phenotypes, into the function of the molecules carrying blood group specificities. This last chapter is the longest and most detailed of the book, comprising 25 pages. In my opinion, however, a section on the significance of the blood groups should also have included the theories regarding the evolutionary pressures which drove their appearance and maintenance. The relationship between ABO polymorphisms and Plasmodium falciparum is in fact mentioned in the chapter on blood groups and disease, but this topic should have received a greater coverage. The book is completed by a glossary, bibliographical references, and an analytic index. The pages are elegantly designed, with the text in a large lateral column and notes and small illustrations in a narrow medial column. Unfortunately, long notes are also accommodated in the same narrow column, so that they sometimes extend through several pages, making reading awkward. A full page box would have been more appropriate. There are a few typographic errors scattered through the text, some of them with curious consequences: on page 45, refractile red cell ghosts became “retractile”, and on page 89 carmine acetic acid turned into “ascetic”. As already mentioned, most chapters are written following the historical development of their subjects and the succession of them also follows a logic of temporal sequence. This provides a sort of plot to the exposition, which makes it interesting and stimulates reading the book through. Many beautiful illustrations and useful tables contribute to a pleasant and profitable read. What is the intended readership of this book? Technical aspects are not omitted, although they are usually introduced and explained as if the authors expected a wider audience than immunohaematologists. Anyone interested in blood groups will find this book fascinating, both for the historical perspective and for the focus on biological correlates. This broader perspective, together with anecdotes, illustrations, and tables, provides precious material to enliven lessons on blood groups, which are usually quite boring for the audience.