Neonatal Blood Type

[fenwayman]

Is it possible that a type AB Mother can deliver a type O infant?

[Nancy L.]

My immediate knee-jerk response is: No, Of Course Not! However, I seem to remember in the back of my mind, the rare possibility that the mother's AB type could be due to a rare cis-AB where the A and B antigens are both on the same allele allowing for the passing on of the O antigen on the other allele. I'm typing this after a very long day with no reference books at hand and may be imagining things. I look forward to hearing from the real experts.

[JOANBALONE]

Is the mom a surrogate? Are the blood types of baby and mom correct?

JB

[Malcolm Needs ☆]

I agree with both of the posts above.

We know of a case in one of our local hospitals where an apparently group AB mother gave birth to a group O baby. After a huge amount of investigation, and worries about babies being swapped in the Labour Ward, and the Chief Biomedical Scientist having a crisis of concience, because he thought that he could no longer perform even the simplest ABO group, the Ward finally told the Transfusion Laboratory that the mother had received a bone marrow transplant from a group AB donor, and that the ovum was a gift from her group O sister. The Ward did not think that the Transfusion Laboratory needed to know this detail!

I mean, there is patient confidentiality, and down-right stupidity!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, there may be another, albeit extremely rare explanation, and that is that both parents are heterozygous for the H gene. As this is dominant, they would express the ABO antigens, but if they both pass on their recessive h gene to their baby, the baby would be an Oh (Bombay), and, because the baby would yet to make anti-A, anti-B, anti-A,B or anti-H, you wouldn't know yet!!!!!!!!!!!

I doubt it though!

:eyepoppin:eyepoppin:eyepoppin:eyepoppin:eyepoppin

Edited October 27, 2010 by Malcolm Needs
The usual appalling spelling!

[Liz]

I agree with all the replies.

The surrogate

the hetero H

the cis AB

Now if it is hetero H, this child can have an AB child when s/he grows up depending on the spouse's blood group. It woud be nice to reslove it now, UNLESS , there is something that needs to be kept secret by the parents....

[Malcolm Needs ☆]

True Liz, but even if Mum has had a fling, and the baby's "other" Dad is group O, the baby should be either group A or group B, unless one fo the explanations above is correct.

[Liz]

You are absolutely right.

We had a case where mom and baby just did not match and rather than have a "massacer" we kept it quiet, only to later find out that the husband also didnt want to know!!

[Liz]

that would be "massacre".

[jmphil4]

I agree with the above posts. I remember we had a case with an 'O' mom and an 'AB' baby. Our first thought was that the specimen had been mislabeled, so we had the specimen recollected. Once the blood type was confirmed we were just starting to wonder about other possibilities when the nurse got back to us that mom was a surrogate.

jmphil4

[AMER]

Thanks for all of you about your answers but i hope if any body have reference book talking about the same cases.

Regards.

Amer

[Liz]

1. Harmening is a good book: Modern Blood Banking And Transfusion Practices. Denise Harmening (Author, Editor) 5th Ed

2. AABB Technical Manual is very good

Many others but I believe those 2 are sufficient, you can order them, through the AABB press and Amazon.

[AMER]

Thanks a lot Liz

[Malcolm Needs ☆]

You can find this kind of thing in Geoff Daniels' book, Human Blood Groups, 2nd edition, 2002, Blackwell Science, ISBN 0-632-056460.

[AMER]

WAW Thanks Malcome now i have three books i am so happy.

[Liz]

You are most Welcome

[John C. Staley]

Story time.

I had just finished a type and crossmatch on a patient when a nurse came into the blood bank in quite a huff. Apparently the patient was her father and I had obviously gotten his blood type wrong. I suggested we go back up to the patient's room and I would draw his blood under her direct observation (I had not drawn the original sample). She could then follow me back to the lab where I would perform another ABO/Rh typing with her observing.

As expected I repeated exactly the same typing I had gotten on the first sample. At that point she made the statement that he could not be her father. Normally I would have asked for a little more information and possibly tried to explain the genetics of blood groups to her but this particular nurse had come in with quite an attitude and was most antisocial towards me so I simply stated, "I guess you need to take that up with your mother."

[Malcolm Needs ☆]

Good for you John!

[rrcc1974]

"I guess you need to take that up with your mother."

Oh, to have been a fly on that wall!

[Liz]

Excellent John!!!

[AMcCord]

Good one, John!