Why Get Tested?
To determine ABO blood group and Rh type
When to Get Tested?
When you need to be transfused with blood or blood components or when you donate blood at a collection facility; pregnant women are tested to determine the risk of Rh incompatibility between the mother and fetus
Sample Required?
A blood sample drawn from a vein in your arm or from a heelstick in the case of an infant
How is it used?
Blood typing is used to determine your blood group and what type of blood or blood components you can safely receive. It is important to ensure that there is compatibility between a patient who requires a transfusion of blood or blood components and the ABO and Rh type of the unit of blood that will be transfused. A potentially fatal transfusion reaction can occur if a unit of blood containing an ABO antigen to which a patient has an antibody is transfused to that patient. For example, people with blood group O have both anti-A and anti-B antibodies in their blood. If a unit of blood that is group A, B, or AB is transfused to this patient, the antibodies in the patient’s blood will react with the red cells, destroying them and causing potentially serious complications.
If an Rh-negative patient is transfused with Rh-positive blood, it is likely that the patient will produce antibodies against Rh-positive blood. Although this does not cause problems for the patient during the current transfusion, a future transfusion with Rh-positive blood could result in a serious transfusion reaction.
Rh typing is especially important during pregnancy because a mother and her fetus could be incompatible. If the mother is Rh-negative but the father is Rh-positive, the fetus may be positive for the Rh antigen. As a result, the mother’s body could develop antibodies against the Rh antigen. The antibodies may cross the placenta and cause destruction of the baby’s red blood cells, resulting in a condition known as hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. To prevent development of Rh antibodies, an Rh-negative mother is treated with an injection of Rh immune globulin during her pregnancy and again after delivery if the baby is Rh-positive. The Rh immune globulin “masks” any Rh antigen from the fetus that the mother may be exposed to during her pregnancy and delivery and prevents her from becoming sensitized and developing antibodies against the Rh antigen.
Blood typing is also used to determine the blood group of potential donors at a collection facility. Units of blood that are collected from donors are blood typed and then appropriately labeled so that they can be used for patients that require a specific ABO group and Rh type.
To determine ABO blood group and Rh type
When to Get Tested?
When you need to be transfused with blood or blood components or when you donate blood at a collection facility; pregnant women are tested to determine the risk of Rh incompatibility between the mother and fetus
Sample Required?
A blood sample drawn from a vein in your arm or from a heelstick in the case of an infant
How is it used?
Blood typing is used to determine your blood group and what type of blood or blood components you can safely receive. It is important to ensure that there is compatibility between a patient who requires a transfusion of blood or blood components and the ABO and Rh type of the unit of blood that will be transfused. A potentially fatal transfusion reaction can occur if a unit of blood containing an ABO antigen to which a patient has an antibody is transfused to that patient. For example, people with blood group O have both anti-A and anti-B antibodies in their blood. If a unit of blood that is group A, B, or AB is transfused to this patient, the antibodies in the patient’s blood will react with the red cells, destroying them and causing potentially serious complications.
If an Rh-negative patient is transfused with Rh-positive blood, it is likely that the patient will produce antibodies against Rh-positive blood. Although this does not cause problems for the patient during the current transfusion, a future transfusion with Rh-positive blood could result in a serious transfusion reaction.
Rh typing is especially important during pregnancy because a mother and her fetus could be incompatible. If the mother is Rh-negative but the father is Rh-positive, the fetus may be positive for the Rh antigen. As a result, the mother’s body could develop antibodies against the Rh antigen. The antibodies may cross the placenta and cause destruction of the baby’s red blood cells, resulting in a condition known as hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. To prevent development of Rh antibodies, an Rh-negative mother is treated with an injection of Rh immune globulin during her pregnancy and again after delivery if the baby is Rh-positive. The Rh immune globulin “masks” any Rh antigen from the fetus that the mother may be exposed to during her pregnancy and delivery and prevents her from becoming sensitized and developing antibodies against the Rh antigen.
Blood typing is also used to determine the blood group of potential donors at a collection facility. Units of blood that are collected from donors are blood typed and then appropriately labeled so that they can be used for patients that require a specific ABO group and Rh type.
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