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Ana Heully,
Alexis Threeton, &
Courtney Zahn
Pathophysiology
improved the safety of blood transfusions, and have also provided explanations for
certain disorders and diseases. These blood groups have played a role in certain diseases
such as hemolytic disease of a newborn, anemia, and polycythemia.
clotting (American Society of Hematology, 2015). White blood cells (leukocytes) are the
immune system cells, which function to identify and eliminate harmful substances in the
body. Red blood cells, erythrocytes, function primarily to transport oxygen from the
lungs to the body tissues and remove carbon dioxide from the tissues. Red blood cells
are the most abundant cell in the body, each containing 280 million hemoglobin
molecules. Hemoglobin is a protein rich in iron, which is responsible for the red color of
blood, and functions to transport oxygen and carbon dioxide throughout the body as well
as to regulate blood pressure and blood flow. Blood is complex, vital to survival, and
similar from person to person. Despite these similarities, analysis of blood under a
microscope led to the discovery that there are also differences in the red blood cells of
blood (Tortora & Derrickson, 2009).
The differences in blood are associated with microscopic markers known as
antigens, which are located on the surface of red blood cells. Antigens are composed of
Blood
transfusions involve the addition of whole blood or components of blood into a persons
bloodstream or bone marrow. Not all blood groups are compatible, and the mixing of
incompatible blood from two different people can cause agglutination, or blood
clumping.
or
negative depending
on the presence or
(Scott, 2012) 1: ABO and Rh Blood Groups and their Surface Antigens
absence of the Rh
factor (Blood Types, 2014).
Group A blood has only the A antigen on the surface of the red blood cells and B
antibody in the plasma. Group A is able to donate red blood cells to group A and group
AB (Blood Types, 2014). Recent studies have shown that people with group A blood are
at greater risk of having high stress levels. This is because people with group A blood,
have higher levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. When the adrenal gland releases large
amounts of cortisol into the blood, the result is an acute stress response (Weller, 2014).
People with group B blood have the B antigen on red blood cells and A antibody
in the plasma. This blood group is able to donate to other people with group B blood and
to group AB (Blood Types, 2015). There have been studies that show that individuals
with group B blood are more likely to contract diseases such as polio, lupus, and rare
disorders such as Lou Gehrigs disease. They suffer from the highest incidence of bladder
physician would treat the underlying cause along with an oxygen supplement (Sheil,
2012).
References
ABO System. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://anthro.palomar.edu/blood/ABO_system.htm.
American Society of Hematology (2015). Blood basics. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from
http://www.hematology.org/Patients/Basics/.
Anstee, D. (2010, January 10). The relationship between blood groups and disease.
Retrieved April 10, 2015, from
http://www.bloodjournal.org/content/115/23/4635?sso-checked=true#sec-7
Blood Types. (2014, March 17). Retrieved April 9, 2015, from
http://www.redcrossblood.org/learn-about-blood/blood-types