Blood Types

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Yes I should be able to find this myself, but I think I have confused my self.

Is type O blood the same as type O-

In other words all blood types missing the Rh factor are - ?

So that when you say type O you are also saying it is type O- because type O blood doesn't have the Rh factor or you would call it type O+....

Is this correct?

I have found the blood types labled in a variety of ways and my instructor apparantly doesn't grasp what I am asking.

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Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that you are right.

Any blood type that is not stated as positive is negative. Meaning type A is type A-. However, since Rh+ blood is more common than Rh-, I would always specify just to be on the safe side.

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Hi,

With the implications of giving the wrong blood.. I would always clarify. But that is me.

Measure twice, cut once.

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Specializes in NICU, Psych, Education.

If someone tells you just 'O' or you see something with that label, I would definitely stop and clarify. Given the huge potential for liability with transfusion errors, a blood type should really include the ABO and the Rh.

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Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that you are right.

Any blood type that is not stated as positive is negative. Meaning type A is type A-. However, since Rh+ blood is more common than Rh-, I would always specify just to be on the safe side.

So then I would ask why do we ever refer to anyone as having type A, B, AB and O as they should be refered to as having type A-, B-, AB- and O- and of course their + counterparts.

So there is not a type A, only type A- and A+ you either have the Rh factor or you don't.

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http://paternityangel.com/Articles_zone/RHesus/RH1.htm

Everyone has an Rh (Rhesus) Factor, and has positive or negative after their blood type. A, B, and O are the alleles inherited from the folks. A and B are dominant over O. So we can have A, B, AB, or O blood types. Rh is also inherited. 85% of the world is Rh +, 15% are Rh -. Problems arise when Mom is negative and Baby positive. She will develop antibodies to the baby's blood after birth, when the placental barrier is breached. This is why the treatment to prevent her converting is administered shortly after birth.

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http://paternityangel.com/Articles_zone/RHesus/RH1.htm

Everyone has an Rh (Rhesus) Factor, and has positive or negative after their blood type. A, B, and O are the alleles inherited from the folks. A and B are dominant over O. So we can have A, B, AB, or O blood types. Rh is also inherited. 85% of the world is Rh +, 15% are Rh -. Problems arise when Mom is negative and Baby positive. She will develop antibodies to the baby's blood after birth, when the placental barrier is breached. This is why the treatment to prevent her converting is administered shortly after birth.

This is exactly the type of information that confused me because I did research this, seems so easy to just say we are all either Rh- or Rh+ and one of the 4 major bloodtypes.

Not a single one of the pages I visited nor my text book say that...in fact my teacher couldn't answer this question.

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Are you still confused, or do you get it now?

:)

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Specializes in LDRP.

My prof said, "either you have RH or you dont." That cleared it up for me. So if you test and the blood shows no RH reaction, then you are RH negative.

GL!

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Not much else to add, but if you want to read more (Yeah, because you don't have enough to read) RN magazine has a blood trasnfusion safety article in their latest issue that also reviews type and factor and why they're important. It's an easy read :)

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Specializes in MICU.

Sue is not 100% correct. Rh is based on an antigen on the red cell, called the D antigen. If this D antigen is present, it reacts positively with ANTI-D during the ABO/RH test performed in the bloodbank. If the antigen is not present on the RBC membrane, then the cell is typed Rh negative. Also, there are many other antigens in the Rh system like C (big C), c (little c), E (big E), and e (little e). Your patient can have an antibody to ANY antigen and this would be caught during the antibody screen, hence why you order a type and screen.

There are only 4 blood types (A, B, AB, O), but there are hundreds of antigens on the red cells. Rh is only one of those antigen systems. There are times when we only call a blood product by its ABO group - example, FFP and cryo are only called group A because there are no red cells present in them (and again, the D antigen that determines your Rh factor is carried on the RBC). If you are talking about RBCs, you need to include the ABO and Rh.

LifeLONGstudent

a former blood bank technologist.

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So where was I wrong? You added a lot of information, for which I thank you, but didn't correct anything I said.

:confused:

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