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September 1, 2009
The human body contains about 5 liters of blood flowing through the veins, arteries and capillaries. Its pH is 7.4. The specific gravity of whole blood is 1050 to 1060. Blood is 3 to 4 times more viscous than water. It is a complex fluid which is made up of 55% plasma and 45% formed elements. Blood contains Hemoglobin which serves as a carrier of oxygen to tissues. There are four blood groups – A, B, AB and O. Blood from one group cannot be transfused into another different group.
There will be severe cross reactions. ‘A’ blood group causes clotting of ‘A’ antigen, ‘B’ group causes clumping of ‘B’ antigen, ‘AB’ group for both ‘A’ and ‘B’ while ‘O’ blood group does not cause any clumping. When there is loss of blood due to any accident, it has to be replenished in the body which will take time. So blood transfusion is done. A wrong transfusion can lead to disastrous consequences from fatigue, renal failure and leading to death. Blood group matching is essential before any transfusion. The compatibility of the donor’s and recipient’s blood is tested before transfusing. Since ‘O’ group does not cause any clotting, it can be transfused to all other groups and hence called ‘Universal Donor’. ‘AB’ blood group is called ‘Universal Recipient’.
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