Blood Types: ABO and Rh (with donuts and sprinkles!)

All about blood types - ABO and Rh blood groups. Who donates to whom? How are blood types inherited? What are the medical issues involved with transfusions? DON'T memorize that donor / recipient table - watch this video instead! Links to videos mentioned: Mendelian Genetics: Fun with Cats and Peas http://youtu.be/xtJwHytHRfI JOIN THE FUN all over the WEB: SUBSCRIBE: http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePenguinProf FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ThePenguinProf GOOGLE+: https://plus.google.com/+Penguinprof/posts TWITTER: https://twitter.com/penguinprof WEB: http://www.penguinprof.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VIDEO DETAILS: Blood Groups: ABO and Rh Blood Group Systems 32 human blood group systems are now recognized by the International Society of Blood Transfusion The most important of these: ABO blood group system and Rh blood group system Discovery of ABO Blood Types ABO blood types were discovered in 1900 by Dr. Karl Landsteiner at the University of Vienna He wondered why some patients died as a result of blood transfusions and others did not Inheritance Blood types are inherited genetic traits (like eye color, hair color, etc.) ABO Analogy: Donuts and Sprinkles donut = red blood cell A sprinkles = A antigens B sprinkles = B antigens no sprinkles = no antigens (plain donut) What are the antigens chemically? Alleles in the ABO System i = base (plain donut) IA = encodes A antigens IB = encodes B antigens Allele Combinations ii IAIA or IAi IBIB or IBi IAIB Antigens and Antibodies The antigens you have on your blood cells are recognized by your immune system as SELF antigens If foreign antigens are discovered in your body, antibodies (or immunoglobulins) will be made by B cells of the immune system Antibody Structure Antigen + Antibody = agglutination reaction Agglutination = the clumping of particles Latin: agglutinare meaning 'to glue' Mixing of all blood groups and the result KEY: CANNOT transfuse if foreign antigens are introduced!!! The Rh Antigen Inherited in Mendelian fashion! Medical issue: Rh- mother and Rh+ fetus Good News... Rho(D) Globulin Treatment ("RhoGAM")