WEBVTT - Are all blood types needed for donation?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stop from house stuff works dot com

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<v Speaker 1>where smart Happens. Hi, I'm Marshall Brain with today's question.

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<v Speaker 1>Are all blood types needed for donation? So let's start

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<v Speaker 1>at the beginning. A blood group or a blood type

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<v Speaker 1>is based on the presence or absence of two different

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<v Speaker 1>proteins called A and B on the surface of red

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<v Speaker 1>blood cells. Because there are two proteins involved, there are

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<v Speaker 1>four possible combinations or blood types known as A bio groups.

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<v Speaker 1>There's type A blood where only the A protein is present,

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<v Speaker 1>There's type B blood where only the B protein is present.

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<v Speaker 1>There's type A B blood where both proteins are present,

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<v Speaker 1>and then there's type O blood where neither protein is present.

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<v Speaker 1>And this is about the population. In addition to the

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<v Speaker 1>A and B proteins, there's another protein involved called the

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<v Speaker 1>rh factor RH for reesus monkeys where it was first

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<v Speaker 1>identified and the RH factor is either present plus or

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<v Speaker 1>absent minus. Therefore, blood types are described as the type

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<v Speaker 1>and the RH factor, such as O positive or A

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<v Speaker 1>positive or A B negative. So how do they figure

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<v Speaker 1>out what your blood type is? Blood types are determined

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<v Speaker 1>by placing three drops of blood on a glass microscope

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<v Speaker 1>slide to one drop of blood, a drop of antibodic

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<v Speaker 1>solution to protein A known as anti A, is added.

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<v Speaker 1>To the second drop, a drop of antibody solution of

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<v Speaker 1>protein B is added, and to the third drop a

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<v Speaker 1>drop of antibody solution to r H factor is added.

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<v Speaker 1>The blood drops and the antibody drops are mixed and

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<v Speaker 1>examined for clumps of red blood cells, and the blood

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<v Speaker 1>type is determined by which blood cells form clumps. Clumps

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<v Speaker 1>mean that the particular protein A, B, and r H

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<v Speaker 1>is present. For example, clumps in anti A and anti

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<v Speaker 1>r H but not in anti B would indicate a

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<v Speaker 1>person with type A plus blood. Now, these clumps are

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<v Speaker 1>important because that can happen in real life as well.

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<v Speaker 1>When blood is given from one person to another, known

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<v Speaker 1>as a transfusion, the blood types have to match. If

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<v Speaker 1>they're not matched properly, the recipient will form these clumps

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<v Speaker 1>in response to the donor's blood. The clots will lead

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<v Speaker 1>to heart attacks, embolisms, and strokes. It's called a transfusion reaction.

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<v Speaker 1>And when thinking about these reactions, two types are special.

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<v Speaker 1>There's type OH minus blood. It's called the universal donor

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<v Speaker 1>because it can be given to anybody. It has no

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<v Speaker 1>proteins that can cause the clumps. And then there's type

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<v Speaker 1>A B positive, which is known as the universal receiver

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<v Speaker 1>because the recipient has all the proteins and so none

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<v Speaker 1>of these clumps are going to form no matter what

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<v Speaker 1>kind of blood is pumped in. Finally, the RH factor

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<v Speaker 1>is important for pregnant women. If an RH positive man

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<v Speaker 1>and an RH negative woman have a child, the child

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<v Speaker 1>can be either RH positive or RH negative, depending on

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<v Speaker 1>the GENA type of the father. If the baby is

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<v Speaker 1>r H positive, this can cause problems because it's different

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<v Speaker 1>from the mother's RH type. While in the womb, some

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<v Speaker 1>blood cells from the baby will cross the placenta into

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<v Speaker 1>the mother's bloodstream. The mother will make antibodies to the

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<v Speaker 1>RH positive cells. If the woman becomes pregnant again, and

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<v Speaker 1>if the baby is r H positive, the mother's anti

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<v Speaker 1>RH antibodies will cross into the baby's blood and destroy

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<v Speaker 1>its red blood cells, which can kill the baby. If

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<v Speaker 1>diagnosed early, it's possible to save the baby under these

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<v Speaker 1>circumstances by replacing the baby's blood with transfusion that are

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<v Speaker 1>free of the r H antibodies. Also, if this situation

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<v Speaker 1>is known, it's possible to treat an RH negative woman

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<v Speaker 1>with an anti rh antibody drug immediately after childbirth to

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<v Speaker 1>inactivate the baby's r H plus cells and prevent the

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<v Speaker 1>mother from forming these anti rh antibodies in the first place.

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<v Speaker 1>This is called desensitizing her to the RH factor. Be

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