Case study (continued from Q.33): An old woman is admitted to the hospital for a routine surgery. Her medical history reveals that she has blood group, B-negative. The hospital's blood bank has only A-positive and O-positive blood units available. She requires a blood transfusion

Question

Case study (continued from Q.33): An old woman is admitted to the hospital for a routine surgery. Her medical history reveals that she has blood group, B-negative. The hospital's blood bank has only A-positive and O-positive blood units available. She requires a blood transfusion during surgery. (b) What alternative options are available to the medical team to ensure compatible blood transfusion for the old woman? Write two points.

**OR**

Case study (continued, Or version of Q.33): A patient is complaining of frequent urination, excessive thirst, hunger and tiredness. On examination his fasting blood sugar level is found higher than 130 mg/dL on two occasions. He also experiences fatigue and abdominal pain. (b) What treatment options would you recommend for the patient? Write two points.

Accepted Answer

>

> [!TLDR]
> When only ABO/Rh-incompatible units are locally available, the safest options are sourcing matched or universal-donor blood from elsewhere, or delaying non-urgent surgery until compatible blood is arranged — always confirmed by cross-matching.
>
> Given that the local blood bank only has A-positive and O-positive units, and the patient is B-negative (for whom neither is safely compatible — the O-positive unit still carries the Rh antigen she lacks), the medical team has a few real alternatives:
>
> 1. **Source compatible blood from elsewhere:** The team should urgently reach out to other hospital blood banks, regional blood transfusion centres, or voluntary donor registries/directories to locate and obtain a unit that is either an exact match (B-negative) or the **universal red-cell donor type, O-negative** — O-negative red cells lack both A/B antigens and the Rh antigen, so they can be safely transfused to a patient of any ABO/Rh type in a genuine compatibility sense (assuming a proper cross-match is still performed).
> …

Blood Group	Antigen on RBCs	Antibody in Plasma
A	A	Anti-B
B	B	Anti-A
AB	A and B	None
O	None	Anti-A and Anti-B

Q.Case study (continued from Q.33): An old woman is admitted to the hospital for a routine surgery. Her medical history reveals that she has blood group, B-negative. The hospital's blood bank has only A-positive and O-positive blood units available. She requires a blood transfusion during surgery.

Concept understanding — Blood Groups (ABO And Rh)

Blood Groups: ABO and Rh Systems

The ABO System

Working Out Transfusion Compatibility

The Rh System

Combining Both Systems …

Q.Case study (continued from Q.33): An old woman is admitted to the hospital for a routine surgery. Her medical history reveals that she has blood group, B-negative. The hospital's blood bank has only A-positive and O-positive blood units available. She requires a blood transfusion during surgery.

🎓Unlock everything free for 14 days

Unlock everything free for 14 days