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Card 8 / 16:
In preparation for a scheduled surgery, a patient visits the hospital lab for a blood draw. The technician collects a blood sample and performs a test to determine its type. She places a sample of the patient’s blood in two wells. To the first well she adds anti-A antibody. To the second she adds anti-B antibody. Both samples visibly agglutinate. Has the technician made an error, or is this a normal response? If normal, what blood type does this indicate?
The lab technician has not made an error. Blood type AB has both A and B surface antigens, and neither anti-A nor anti-B antibodies circulating in the plasma. When anti-A antibodies (added to the first well) contact A antigens on AB erythrocytes, they will cause agglutination. Similarly, when anti-B antibodies contact B antigens on AB erythrocytes, they will cause agglutination.
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