Here is why blood grouping is important

If you have ever heard of blood transfusion, donation, or blood tests, you have probably heard about one common term and that is ‘blood group’. However, even after knowing that blood grouping is important, many people fail to conclude why!

While it is easy to accept that all blood is the same that is made by combining the same types of cells, blood groups vary from person to person. This can be revealed with the help of a blood group test. Even being hereditary, the offspring don’t get the same blood group from one of their parents. Many factors determine the blood group, but before that, let us tell you what exactly is the blood group.

What is Blood Group?

A blood group is the grouping of the blood based on the inherited antigenic substance and the absence or presence of antibodies. The antigenic substances mainly cover the surface of the RBCs, while antigens may be protein, glycoproteins, carbohydrates, etc, depending on the blood group system.

Why Blood Grouping Is Important?

A human body contains red blood cells in trillions quantity, each of which is covered in an array of sugar and protein, which is inherited by parents. It determines the blood group. Likewise, the human blood is classified into four major groups A, B, AB, and O. This is based on which sugars coat or the RBCs. However, these blood groups are further classified into O-, O+, B-, B+, A-, A+, AB-, and AB+. Now, an individual can get to his blood group with the help of the blood group test, which is performed by many labs including Flebo’s blood group test.

Blood Transfusion

An accurate report of the blood group test becomes extremely crucial when it comes to blood transfusion. Blood transfusion is the process using which the donated blood or parts of RBCs are being transfused to the patient. It is done with the help of a narrow tube, which is placed within the patient’s arm’s vein.

In this scenario, the transfused blood has to be similar to that of the blood group of the patients, or else, it can result in various serious issues including intravenous clumping. This will result in the production of the antibodies to attack the antigens on the transfused blood cells, causing rejection.

During Pregnancy

A blood group test is important during the pregnancy of the women. Since blood groups are hereditary, the baby receives blood group from either the father or the mother. Now, the parents must have either RhD positive or RhD negative but in a case where the father has RhD positive and the mother has RhD negative, the baby will receive RhD positive, which can result in complications. This is when the need for a special drug rises, which helps to stop the production of antibodies in the mother’s body, which would attack the baby’s blood cells.

Emergency Situations

During a common emergency, knowing the blood group beforehand is extremely important. This situation mainly rises during operations, surgery, child’s birth, etc. If the hospital has the blood group test report of the patient, it becomes easier for them to quick-start a blood transfusion.

While most people know their blood group, it is also essential to get the test from a trusted lab that can offer you an accurate result. Also, to avoid complications during blood donation, transfusion, or pregnancy as stated above, the main deciding factor is your blood group. So, if during any phase of your life or for anyone in your family, the need for a blood transfusion rise, the first thing that the hospital will check is your blood group and the blood group of the donator. Also, these situations may arrive uninvited, so be ready with your blood group type.