T
HE FIRST successful blood
transfusion was carried out in
1665 by English physician
Dr Richard Lower, using dogs as donors
and recipients. When transfusions were
first trialled on humans, recipients
tended to die. It wasn’t until 1900 that
Austrian Dr Karl Landsteiner discov-
ered the ABO blood group system,and realised human patients needed to
be given compatible blood. He was
awarded a Nobel Prize for his discovery.
There are more than 30 blood group
systems, but most important for
transfusion or transplantation is the
ABO system. Every human is of blood
group O, A, B or AB (or a minor variant
of these groups). In fact, there are onlytwo determinants in the ABO system:
A and B. O is the absence of either A or
B, and AB is the presence of both A and
B on red blood cells. The A and B
determinants differ only in minor ways.
The Australian Red Cross Blood
Service always needs blood of all types.
Find out how you can donate at:
http://www.transfusion.com.auBlood relations
TOPOGR APHICAL
Blood groups are determined by a
protein or antigen on the surface of
red blood cells. So, the ABO system
has A and B antigens.It’s preferable for patients to receive the same
blood type as their own. However, each of the
main blood groups can safely donate as follows:COMPATIBILITY OF BLOOD GROUPSBlood groups are inherited in the same way as features such as eye- or hair colour. Here are the possible
blood groups that children may inherit according to the combination they receive from their parents.AUSTRALIANS
BY BLOOD TYPEFAC T
The function of
blood groups is
not known.
Animals also have
blood groups, but
these are not the
same as ours. So
blood from one
species cannot be
safely transfused
to another species
and any attempt
to do so would
probably be lethal.SOURCES: WWW.DONATEBLOOD.COM.AU; WWW.BETTERHEALTH.VIC.GOV.AU; WWW.TRANSFUSION.COM.AU; WWW.BLOOD.CO.UK; INFOGRAPHICS: ANTHONY CALVERT16 Australian Geographic