When someone says “blood group”, you perhaps spontaneously think of groups O, A, B or AB? These are indeed the best known, however, there are in reality many more! Some are very rare, which can make it difficult to care for patients with them. After 50 years of mysteries and research, scientists have succeeded in identifying a new blood group. This new group, called MAL, allows us to learn more about rare groups and its discovery will help improve the care of patients with atypical groups. The researchers published their results in the journal Blood.
Blood group: what are we talking about?
First, let's ask- us the question: what is a blood group? This is a classification of red blood cells, the famous cells that transport oxygen in our body and which enter into the composition of our blood. This classification is done according to the presence or absence of certain molecules, which we call antigens. These molecules, which can be proteins, carbohydrates or even glycoproteins, are recognized by our antibodies and induce a response from the immune system. Hence their extreme importance in the event of perfusion!
The blood group is therefore determined according to the antigens carried by the red blood cell. Group A will have red blood cells with A antigen, group B with B antigens, group O with O antigens,…Read more on Science and Life
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