A person with AB blood type is transfused with type O blood. What happens and why?
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The textbook says there will be no immune reaction.
I understand that the transfused type O red blood cells have no antigens and the recipient type AB plasma has no antibodies.
However, won't the transfused type O plasma have AB antibodies that will react with the AB antigens present on recipient type AB red blood cells?
There are two types of tranfusion: Packed red blood cells, and plasma
In packed RBC, there will be no immune reaction to the type 0 blood
in the transfer of plasma, the situation is reversed, and you are correct. The reverse occues: type O plasma is not the universal donor here, it can only be transfused to 0 blood types.
In the question, it is not refering to a plasma transfer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_type
What you are saying makes perfect sense, but the textbook question specifically says a blood transfusion, and blood has both RBC and plasma.
I presume that "blood transfusion" is a common shorthand for RBC transfusion and I wasn't familiar with that shorthand.
In the scenario you described, a person with AB blood type receiving a transfusion of type O blood, the textbook is correct in stating that there will be no immune reaction.
Let's break it down step by step:
1. The person with AB blood type has both A and B antigens on their red blood cells. These antigens are responsible for determining the blood type.
2. The person with AB blood type also has AB antibodies in their plasma. These antibodies are present because they do not recognize their own A and B antigens as foreign.
3. Type O blood, on the other hand, does not have A or B antigens on the red blood cells. It is considered the universal donor because it lacks these antigens.
4. However, type O blood does have both A and B antibodies in the plasma, since it recognizes both A and B antigens as foreign.
Considering these factors, it is expected that when the person with AB blood type is transfused with type O blood, there is a potential for the antibodies in the type O blood plasma to react with the A and B antigens on the recipient's red blood cells. This reaction could result in the clumping, or agglutination, of blood cells. This is known as an immune reaction or transfusion reaction.
However, the reason why there will be no immune reaction in this particular case is because the person with AB blood type has no antibodies in their plasma that can react with the A or B antigens on the transfused type O red blood cells. Therefore, even though the type O plasma does have AB antibodies, these antibodies will not have any antigens to react with in this scenario. Thus, there will be no agglutination or immune response.
It's important to note that this scenario may change if there are other factors involved, such as mismatched antigens or if the transfusion involves a significant amount of plasma containing antibodies. Blood transfusions should always be carried out by medical professionals who take into account the specific blood types and potential risk factors to ensure a safe and compatible transfusion.