NAME

_______________________________________________ Section ____________

ABO Blood Typing

Introduction
In 1901, Karl Landsteiner discovered that there are antigens on the surface of red blood cells
and these differ from one person to another. This landmark discovery paved the way to
understanding various reactions that occur during transfusion. This also led to the discovery of
other blood group systems.

Objectives
1. To properly collect blood sample for blood typing.
2. To prepare serum from patient’s blood sample.
3. To perform ABO blood typing using the forward and reverse methods.
4. To interpret results of forward and reverse typing properly.

Materials
Wet and dry cotton
Lancet
Syringe
tourniquet
Glass slide
Test tubes
Applicator stick

Reagents:
Anti-A, anti-B
Cell A, cell B

Forward Typing (glass slide method)
1. Prepare the necessary materials for the procedure.
2. Perform a finger puncture.
3. Wipe the first drop of blood.
4. Place one drop of blood about one cm from the one end of a glass slide and another drop on
the other end.
5. Place one drop of anti-A on the drop of blood on the left and one drop of anti-B on the drop
of blood on the right.
6. Mix with separate applicator sticks.

I. Describe the results below:
Anti-A: ________________________________________________________________________
Anti-B: ________________________________________________________________________

II. What do the results indicate in terms of presence of ABO antigens on the surface of the red
blood cells of your patient?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

III. What is the blood type of the patient? _______________

Reverse typing (test tube method)
1. Extract 3 ml blood from your patient and place this in a test tube.
2. Allow the blood to clot for about 5-15 minutes.
3. When the clot has already retracted, rim the sides of the tube with an applicator stick.
4. Spin the blood in a centrifuge for 5 minutes.
5. Label one test tube “A” and the other one “B”.
6. Place 2 drops of serum in each test tube.
7. Place one drop of cell A into the tube labeled “A” and one drop of cell B into the tube labeled
“B”.
8. Mix by gentle shaking.
9. Centrifuge the tubes for one minute in a serofuge.
10. Remove the tubes from the centrifuge and shake gently. Grade the agglutination reaction
observed in each tube.

IV. Record your results below:
Grade for tube A: _________________ Grade for tube B: _______________

V. What do the results show about the antibodies in the patient’s serum?
______________________________________________________________________________

VI. Based on the results, what is the blood type of the patient? ____________ Why do you say
so? ___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

VII. What is the blood type of this patient based on the forward grouping? ___________

VIII. Were the results of the reverse and forward typing the same? _________

IX. Cite some instances when forward and reverse typing do not have the same results.
A. ____________________________________________________________________________
B. ____________________________________________________________________________
C. ____________________________________________________________________________

RUBRICS FOR GRADING

5 3 1
Materials complete Missing 1-3 materials Missing 4 or more
Blood collection All steps were done 1-2 steps not done More than 2 steps
properly properly not done properly
Forward typing Steps were done Steps were done Steps were done
properly on the first properly on the properly on the third
try second try try
Reverse typing Steps were done Steps were done Steps were done
properly on the first properly on the properly on the third
try second try try
Cleanliness Assigned area is Assigned area is not
clean after the lab clean after the lab.