Table 18.2:Blood Types, Antigens, and AntibodiesBlood type Antigen type Plasma anti-
bodiesCan receive
blood from
typesCan donate
blood to
types
A A anti-B A,O A, AB
B B anti-A B,O B, AB
AB A and B none AB, A, B, O AB
O none anti-A, anti-B O AB, A, B, O(Source:Niamh Gray-Wilson)
Blood Diseases
Problems can occur with red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and other parts of the
blood. Many blood disorders are genetic, they are inherited from a parent. Some blood
diseases are a caused by not getting enough of a certain nutrient, while others are cancers of
the blood.
Sickle-Cell Disease
Sickle cell disease is a blood disease that is caused by abnormally-shaped blood protein
hemoglobin. Many of the RBCs of a person with sickle cell disease are long and curved
(sickle-shaped), as shown inFigure18.20. The long, sickle-shaped RBCs can have damaged
cell membranes, which can cause them to burst. The long shape of the cells can cause them
to get stuck in narrow blood vessels. This clotting causes oxygen starvation in tissues, which
causes pain and may cause damage such as stroke or heart attack. People with sickle-cell
disease are most often well, but can on occasion have painful attacks. The disease is not
curable, but can be treated with medicines. Heterozygous individuals have an advantage;
they are resistant to severe malaria. See theGeneticschapter for further discussion.
Anemia
Hemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying molecule found inside RBCs.Anemiaresults when there
is not enough hemoglobin in the blood to carry oxygen to body cells. Hemoglobin normally
carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. Anemia leads to a lack of oxygen in organs.
Anemia is usually caused by one of three things:
- A loss of blood volume through a bleeding wound or a slow leak of blood.
- The destruction of RBCs.