ABO is just the name we gave for things on the surface of our Red Blood Cells (RBC). There are many more than just the ABO, and they can all be different from person to person. They don’t change the ability or an RBC to do its job, so evolution hasn’t selected for them strongly to stay or go.
So an ABO can be called by another name, an antigen. An antigen can be anything your body recognizes as something either belonging to you, or from somewhere external. Self, or not self. Pollen is an antigen, or peanut, or any number of things.
So what made us name them is transfusion medicine. If you are receiving donated RBC, they are non self. So they can be an antigen to you. So you want to only receive blood that your body will not think of as non self. We do this by trying to have matching antigens between donor and recipient.
There are lots of things on RBC in all animals that likely will vary in each individual. We just don’t care so much since we don’t, as often, deal with animal transfusion medicine.
Yes! Just a few days ago I happened to read an ad asking for donors for a puppy in poor condition, in addition to the group it also specified what size the donor should be.
Comments
Yes cats do. Cats can donate blood.
As far as mammals, I know they do.
I don’t know about other animals though. I think reptiles do but I might be misremembering something.
Horses have A, C, D, K, P, Q, U, and T.
A and Q are the most common.
Dogs do! Fun fact, greyhounds are universal donors 🙂
Cats have A, B and AB! B is rare overall, but more common in certain breeds.
I hear birds do not, so they can use a chicken as a blood doner animal for parrot surgeries, for example.
Off my head, I know Dogs have more than 13 blood groups because my dog once needed a blood transfusion.
They do but they’re completely different from ours
Types A, B, BA are most common in Sweden
All gorillas have B. It stands for banana 🙂
ABO is just the name we gave for things on the surface of our Red Blood Cells (RBC). There are many more than just the ABO, and they can all be different from person to person. They don’t change the ability or an RBC to do its job, so evolution hasn’t selected for them strongly to stay or go.
So an ABO can be called by another name, an antigen. An antigen can be anything your body recognizes as something either belonging to you, or from somewhere external. Self, or not self. Pollen is an antigen, or peanut, or any number of things.
So what made us name them is transfusion medicine. If you are receiving donated RBC, they are non self. So they can be an antigen to you. So you want to only receive blood that your body will not think of as non self. We do this by trying to have matching antigens between donor and recipient.
There are lots of things on RBC in all animals that likely will vary in each individual. We just don’t care so much since we don’t, as often, deal with animal transfusion medicine.
Yes! Just a few days ago I happened to read an ad asking for donors for a puppy in poor condition, in addition to the group it also specified what size the donor should be.