Question

Critical Thinking Question (5 pts.) (You may use the back of the page to write your answer if needed). Here is a case-study for you to solve. Use what you learned about blood types and Rhesus factor to solve this situation. Two friends, Mike and Jake were returning late at night from a club in the same car. Suddenly, Mike, who was driving, lost control of the car and they crashed into a big tree. Mike ended up with only a few bruises and scratches, but Jake got hurt. Jake had internal bleeding and was taken to a hospital, but he lost a lot of blood and needed a blood transfusion. Mike, feeling responsible for his friend's condition, wanted to donate blood to his friend. Both Mike and Jake had blood type O. So, in the ER, Mike gave 2 pints of blood to Jake. Two weeks later, Jake became anemic. So, Mike, being a good friend, decided to give blood again. However, after the second transfusion, Jake went into an anaphylactic shock (severe immune response) and almost died. What, do you think was the problem here? Your answer should have two parts: 1. Explain, what happened in Jake's body after the first blood transfusion - why did he become anemic so soon after the transfusion? (hint: it's not from bleeding) 2. Explain, what happened after the second blood transfusion - why did Jake go into an anaphylactic shock?

Answer 1

1).

Similar to the A and B antigens on the red blood cells, we also contain the “Rhesus antigens.” If a person is carrying these antigens, the blood group is said to be Rh+ve (Rhesus positive), and if these antigens are absent, the blood group is Rh-ve (Rhesus negative).

In the given case, both the blood group of both Mike and Jake is "O," but their Rhesus factors might be different. The possible reason for Jake's anemia is, "hemolytic disease" caused by Rhesus factor incompatibility. Jake might be Rhesus negative, and Mike might be Rhesus positive, so Jake developed antibodies against Mike's blood group after first transfusion, which immediately triggered anaphylaxis reaction after the second blood transfusion.

2).

The anaphylactic shock developed after second exposure to the same source of blood (of the same group), this is due to Rhesus factor mismatch.