The importance of getting blood typing right cannot be stressed enough, especially when a patient will be transfused with blood from a donor. This course explains the basic genetics and principles of the ABO blood group system, as well as the tube methods for forward and reverse ABO grouping. Learners will benefit most from this course if they already possess a basic understanding of genetic principles, immune response, the production and structure of antibodies, and antigen-antibody reactions.

Intended Audience: This program is designed as an educational and training tool for laboratory personnel, including Medical Laboratory Scientists (MLS), Medical Laboratory Technicians (MLT) and Technologists (MT), and Medical Laboratory Science students who wish to review basic principles of the ABO blood group system.

Learning Objectives

• Outline the background and development of the ABO system.
• List antigens and antibodies of the system, including A subgroups.
• Discuss the inheritance of the ABO antigens, including explanations of genotypes and phenotypes.
• Discuss development of serum antibodies with respect to “naturally” occurring antibodies and immune antibodies.
• Explain the procedure for routine ABO slide and tube typing and interpretation of results.
• Determine the ABO blood group, given the forward and reverse typing results.

This course has been approved for P.A.C.E.® credit. There are no prerequisites for this course.