If both the donor and the recipient has the same blood type, does that mean that the donor blood is compatible with the recipient blood? Is cross-matching necessary in this case?

Yes. There are a lot of different antigens in blood that go past ABO and Rh factors that can cause reactions.

Although in an emergency a cross and match goes out the window.

Yes cross matching is necessary. As our instructor said some blood may have more of a "strawberry " and another more of "raspberry" in it. And if patient had transfusions before harder it is to find a perfect match

absolutely. There is a lot more to matching than just blood type.

The A, B, O +/- blood types are just the major more lethal blood types, there are +400 some different antigens/antibodies that they screen for. For example big E, Kell, Little s etc.

Keep in mind also that not all blood products are matched in the same way. Packed RBCs tend to host antigens, platelets tend to host more antibodies. You can give a person who is blood type A platelets that are blood type B because the antigens for A/B are hosted on the red blood cell but the platelets could be carrying anti B antibodies and give them a reaction.

Every single exposure the patient has to a human blood product that carries antibodies/antigens can cause the patient to change their own antibodies/antigens so it is important to check.

Just wait until you have a patient switch from A to B to A again.

Throw in irradiation and things change even more.

The A, B, O +/- blood types are just the major more lethal blood types, there are +400 some different antigens/antibodies that they screen for. For example big E, Kell, Little s etc.

Keep in mind also that not all blood products are matched in the same way. Packed RBCs tend to host antigens, platelets tend to host more antibodies. You can give a person who is blood type A platelets that are blood type B because the antigens for A/B are hosted on the red blood cell but the platelets could be carrying anti B antibodies and give them a reaction.

Every single exposure the patient has to a human blood product that carries antibodies/antigens can cause the patient to change their own antibodies/antigens so it is important to check.

Just wait until you have a patient switch from A to B to A again.

Throw in irradiation and things change even more.

I wish we would have been given more of this type information as part of our science background for nursing. Some basic fact astounds me almost every week. I keep asking myself- " did I ever learn that but forgot?, or am I the only one that thinks it would be improtant to know that...?" We could have skipped the vast amount of time we spent in Chem 101- I have yet to have had to ballance a redox reaction or calculate Avagodro's number before I hung a unit of blood. I can't help but think if we dumped a few "Nursing Diagnoses" we would have time to teach nurses the difference between a hemolytic reaction and a leukocytic reaction to a blood product.