But if he needed a larger-scale transfusion, his kidneys might not be able to cope. If only small amounts of my blood were introduced into my stepdad’s system, this wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, as the rejected blood would be filtered out by his kidneys. If my cells, with their B antigens, were introduced into his body, his immune system would identify them as foreign, producing antibodies to provide immunity against them.Īntibodies attack by binding to the foreign antigens, making the red blood cells clump together. What would happen if he received my B type blood? Having O type blood, remember, means that he has no A or B antigens on the surface of his red blood cells. Say, my stepdad, who has O-type blood, needed a blood transfusion. Image source: World Bank Photo Collection / Flickr. Getting the wrong type of blood in a transfusion can have dangerous consequences.

Alarm bells will start ringing (figuratively speaking), your immune system will go into attack mode, and antibodies will be produced to fight off the unfamiliar visitors. That’s because if an antigen is introduced into your body which it doesn’t already have, rather than welcoming it with open arms, your system will identify it as an intruder. O has both A and B antibody in the plasma.Īll this means that it’s really important that, if you happen to need a blood transfusion, you get the right type.AB has neither A or B antibody in the plasma.B type blood has anti-A antibody in the plasma.A type blood has anti-B antibody in the plasma.For example, if you have A antigens, you will develop only anti-B antibodies. Antibodies are specialised immune proteins that are produced based on the antigens that are not present on your red blood cells. These are produced in the first few years of your life in response to food, bacteria and viruses which you encounter.

GLOSSARY plasma the fluid portion of the blood, in which the blood cells are suspended. The flipside of having these particular antigens is the production of particular antibodies in your blood’s O has neither A or B antigens on red blood cells.AB has both A and B antigens on red blood cells.B type blood has only B antigens on red blood cells.A type blood has only A antigens on red blood cells.The presence or absence of A or B antigens gives us four main blood types: Your blood type is determined by the presence or absence of certain antigens on the surface of your red blood cells.

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