BLOOD TYPING 101 -By Independent Twist

OK, I'm about to go old school on you. When you think of surviving anything what do you think of? Storing food, water, weapons, ammo, medical supplies, currency of some sort, hygiene supplies, or comfort supplies? Do you ever think with all those medical emergencies that you will incur that you will at some point need blood? It is really the one thing you need to consider. First, do you know your blood type? If you don't count the disease/infection as something to rule out, 93% of the population can't receive blood from just anyone. (If you do look at disease or infection your chances of getting any blood is severely diminished.) Did you know that receiving the wrong type of blood can cause both an anaphylactic reaction (shock caused by an allergen) and rupture (they really blow apart) of any red blood cells you currently have in your body. The red blood cells carry oxygen, no O2, no life. Both cause death within minutes and are hard to treat in even the best stocked emergency department. With the proper treatment if caught in time, anaphylaxis can be treated but we still loose people to this reaction everyday from things as simple as peanuts. Rupture of the blood cells cannot be treated. Once they are dead, they are dead. We treat by knowing the early signs of reaction, stopping the transfusion, and pushing large amounts of saline. Missing even the smallest first reaction that is not noticeable by the naked eye will kill you. If you don't know your blood type, go get tested now. You can donate blood and they will tell you. You can ask your doctor to check on your next lab draw. Or you can seek out a lab or test of your own. Keep in mind that some “at home” tests are as reliable as dollar store pregnancy tests... I prefer the Eldon home kit for accuracy and long term storage for emergency uses:http://www.bta-mall.com/product_detail.php… You need to know if you are A, B, AB, or O. (If you have type K you already know the meaning and there is no help outside of your own family. So hit them up for blood, you already know they'll be a match.) Then you need to know if you are Rh + or Rh-. Rh- people can only receive Rh- blood, Rh+ can receive both Rh+ and Rh-.
{A+ people can receive blood from A+ or A-, O+ or O-. They can give blood to only A+ or AB+ people} 

{A- can receive blood from A- or O- only. They can give blood to A+, A–, AB+, or AB-.}
(B+ people can receive blood from B+, B–, O+, or O-. They can give blood to B+ or AB+ only.}
{B- can only receive B- and O-. They can give blood to B+, B–, AB+, or AB-.}
{AB+ are the lucky universal receivers. They can only give to AB+ though.}
{AB- can receive A-, B-, AB-, or O-. They can only give to AB+ or AB-.}
{O+ can only receive O+ or O-. They can give to A+, B+, AB+, or O+}
{O- can only receive O-. They are the nice universal donors though.}

Labs use ABO(H) grouping antisera as a medium to tell what type of blood you have. It is mass produced, frozen, and hard to have if you have no electric. Without knowing your blood type before hand, you can test another person on an emergency basis only without the antisera. I say only emergencies because this is in no way a guarantee of a perfect match but will warn you of some possible mismatches beforehand. Even with what looks like a perfect match in a lab, there are still life threatening reactions to receiving some blood. You will need a clean white tile, antiseptic (like alcohol), and something to puncture the skin for blood. Lets say you have 3 people willing to donate for 1 person that needs blood. Use antiseptic one everyones fingers (bacteria can change results). Puncture the recipients finger and let 4 drops of blood hit the tile in separate areas. Puncture each donors finger and put one drop of their blood on one of the recipients blood drop leaving one just the recipients blood. Wait 5-20 minutes for results. 5 minutes will be less accurate but useful for emergent cases while 20 minutes would give the best results. If it clumps in less than 5 minutes it is not a match and will lead to a deadly reaction. If it separates the red cells and the serum you don't want to use it. If it looks the same or dries without clumping or separating after 20 minutes you have the best match. Another trick we use if the recipient just needs more blood volume but still retains enough blood product to survive is to give them large amounts of normal saline. To make this, you will need to stay as sterile as possible. The water needs to be boiled with the salt in it then returned to room temp before giving it. The ratio is ½ a teaspoon of salt with NO iodine per 8oz/1c. 1L or 1000mL is usually used to replace volume in adults (20mL per kg) (1kg=2.2lbs), children can suffer from fluid overload quickly so you really need to watch the measurements for the fluid based on weight. The solution only lasts a maximum of 24 hours because it is the perfect environment for bacteria to grow. Anything introduced into the veins grows faster, effects you more, and is harder to treat. I hope you will never need to know any of this. With a standing health and electrical system, you won't. If SHTF, you will be glad you did know.

~Independent Twist