In: Biology
True or False - Du positive blood is regarded as Rh-negative for transfusion purposes.
False. Du positive blood cannot be regarded as Rh-negative (or rather Rh D-negative) for transfusion because it contains a weak form of the D antigen.
Explanation:
A very common antigen type for Rh blood grouping is "D". Thus a person tested as "Rh negative" is actually "Rh D negative" (henceforth mentioned as D-neg), i.e. the person does not have any D antigen on their blood cells. This is determined by rapid clinical tests.
A person with D-neg may donate to both D-positive (D+) and D-neg, but may receive blood only from D-neg. Conversely, a D+ person can donate only to a D+ person. This system of classifying patients as either D-positive or D-negative seemed reliable initially. However, it was later observed that some recipients with D-neg blood showed adverse reactions to blood from D-neg donors. Further investigation revealed that these donors were not actually D-neg, but had Du blood type, i.e. a weak or slow reacting D antigen that could not be detected in rapid clinical tests. Thus, additional tests were required to confirm whether an individual was actually D-neg or simply Du.
Since Du blood contains the D antigen, although in a very weak state, it must not transfused to Rh-negative or rather Rh-D-negative recipients. Thus Du blood cannot be regarded as Rh-negative (or rather Rh D-neg) for transfusion. Conversely, Rh-negative blood can be given to a recipient with blood type Du and D+.
In brief:
Rh-D-negative: can receive Rh-D-negative; can donate to Rh-D-negative, Rh-D-positive, Rh-Du
Rh-D-positive: can receive Rh-D-negative, Rh-D-positive, Rh-Du; can donate to Rh-D-positive, Rh-Du
Rh-Du: can receive from Rh-D-negative, Rh-D-positive, Rh-Du; can donate to Rh-D-positive, Rh-Du