Dr. Fisher is faced with a dilemma. A young boy was brought into his remote small town clinic in critical condition after a snowmobile accident. He has lost a lot of blood and is bleeding internally, so will require surgery resulting in more loss of blood. He needs a transfusion immediately, and typing his parents and collecting blood takes precious time.
His blood type is O+, but the clinic was running low on stores of blood and had only A+ and B+. Would either of these be all right to transfuse into the boy, or should Dr. Radner take the time to type and cross-match the child’s parents to see which of them might be a donor? Explain your answer completely, including a discussion of the antigens and antibodies involved.