Tuesday 14 June 2011

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe, Antillean Creole: Gwadloup) is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres (629 sq. mi) and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe is also one of the 27 regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic.
As part of France, Guadeloupe is part of the European Union; hence, as for most EU countries, its currency is the euro. However, Guadeloupe is not part of the Schengen Area. The prefecture and the capital of Guadeloupe is Basse-Terre. Christopher Columbus named the island Santa María de Guadalupe in 1493 after the Virgin Mary, venerated in the Spanish town of Guadalupe, in Extremadura.

Geography of Guadeloupe
Located as the southernmost of the Leeward Islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, Guadeloupe comprises five main islands: Basse-Terre Island, Grande-Terre (separated from Basse-Terre by a narrow sea channel called Salt River) with the adjacent islands of La Désirade, Les Saintes and Marie-Galante.
Western Basse-Terre has a rough volcanic relief while eastern Grande-Terre features rolling hills and flat plains.
Further to the north, Saint-Barthélemy and the northern French part of Saint Martin once came under the jurisdiction of Guadeloupe but on 7 December 2003, both of these areas voted to become an overseas territorial collectivity, a decision which took effect on 22 February 2007.
[edit]Hurricanes
The island was devastated by several hurricanes in modern times:
On 12 September 1928 Okeechobee hurricane caused extensive damage and killed thousands of people.
On 22 August 1964, Guadeloupe was ravaged by Hurricane Cleo, which killed 14 people.
Two years later, on 27 September 1966, Category 3 Hurricane Inez caused very extensive damage mostly in Grande-Terre and north Basse-Terre Island and killed 33 people. Charles De Gaulle visited the island after the hurricanes and declared it a disaster area.
On 17 September 1989, Category 4 Hurricane Hugo caused very extensive damage, left more than 35,000 homeless, destroyed 10,000 homes, 100 percent of the banana crops, and 60 percent of the sugar cane crops.
From late August to mid September 1995, the island was in the path of three successive cyclones: Tropical Storm Iris on 28 August—caused minor damages; Hurricane Luis on 5 September—caused moderate damages in north coast of Grande-Terre; Hurricane Marilyn on 15 September—caused moderate damages in Basse-Terre.
On 21 September 1998, Hurricane Georges pounded the islands causing moderate damage and destroying 90% of the banana crop.

Blood bank

Blood bank is a cache or bank of blood or blood components, gathered as a result of blood donation, stored and preserved for later use in blood transfusion. The term "blood bank" typically refers to a division of a hospital laboratory where the storage of blood product occurs and where proper testing is performed to reduce the risk of transfusion related events. This includes compatibility testing for transfusion and may include blood donation processing, depending on the capabilities of the facility.

History
Lewison of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City initiated the use of sodium citrate as an anticoagulant. This discovery transformed the blood transfusion procedure from direct (vein-to-vein) to indirect. In the same year, Richard Weil demonstrated the feasibility of refrigerated storage of anticoagulated blood. The introduction of a citrate-glucose solution by Francis Peyton Rous and JR Turner two years later permitted storage of blood in containers for several days, thus opening the way for the first "blood depot" established in Britain during World War I.
In Russia Sergei Yudin pioneered the transfusion of cadaveric blood and performed this successfully for the first time on March 23, 1930. Also in 1930 Yudin organized the world's first blood bank at the Nikolay Sklifosovskiy Institute, which set an example for the establishment of further blood banks in different regions of the Soviet Union and in other countries. By the mid-1930s the Soviet Union had set up a system of at least sixty five large blood centers and more than 500 subsidiary ones, all storing "canned" blood and shipping it to all corners of the country.
News of the Soviet experience traveled to the United States, where in 1937 Bernard Fantus, director of therapeutics at the Cook County Hospital in Chicago, established the first hospital blood bank in the United States. In creating a hospital laboratory that preserved and stored donor blood, Fantus originated the term "blood bank." Within a few years, hospital and community blood banks were established across the United States. Willem Johan Kolff organised the first blood bank in Europe (in 1940).
In 1939 Charles R. Drew researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge in developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II. Oswald Hope Robertson, a medical researcher and U.S. Army officer who established the depots, is often regarded as the creator of the first blood bank. The University of Louisville is also credited for the Blood Bank.
An important breakthrough came in 1939-40 when Karl Landsteiner, Alex Wiener, Philip Levine, and R.E. Stetson discovered the Rh blood group system, which was found to be the cause of the majority of transfusion reactions up to that time. Three years later, the introduction by J.F. Loutit and Patrick L. Mollison of acid-citrate-dextrose (ACD) solution, which reduces the volume of anticoagulant, permitted transfusions of greater volumes of blood and allowed longer term storage.
Carl Walter and W.P. Murphy, Jr., introduced the plastic bag for blood collection in 1950. Replacing breakable glass bottles with durable plastic bags allowed for the evolution of a collection system capable of safe and easy preparation of multiple blood components from a single unit of Whole Blood.
An anticoagulant preservative, CPDA-1 was introduced in 1979. It decreased wastage from expiration and facilitated resource sharing among blood banks. Newer solutions contain adenine.

Short-term Storage
Routine blood storage is limited to 21 days at 1°-6°C when treated with acid-citrate-dextrose (ACD), citrate-phosphate-dextrose (CPD) or citrate-phosphate-double dextrose (CP2D) and 35 days when treated with citrate-phosphate-dextrose-adenine (CPDA1) (5 for WB, 6 for RBC), and involves refrigeration but usually not freezing. There has been increasing controversy about whether the age of blood is a factor in transfusion efficacy, specifically on whether older blood directly or indirectly increases risks of complications. Studies have not been consistent on answering this question, with some showing that older blood is indeed less effective but with others showing no such difference.

Long-term Storage
Cryopreservation of red blood cells is done to store rare units for up to 10 years. The cells are incubated in a glycerol solution which acts as a cryoprotectant ("antifreeze") within the cells. The units are then placed in special sterile containers in a freezer at very cold temperatures. The exact temperature depends on the glycerol concentration.

Blood transfusion

Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but modern medical practice commonly uses only components of the blood, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, clotting factors, and platelets.

History
Early attempts
The first historical attempt at blood transfusion was described by the 17th century chronicler Stefano Infessura. Infessura relates that, in 1492, as Pope Innocent VIII sank into a coma, the blood of three boys was infused into the dying pontiff (through the mouth, as the concept of circulation and methods for intravenous access did not exist at that time) at the suggestion of a physician. The boys were ten years old, and had been promised a ducat each. However, not only did the pope die, but so did the three children. Some authors have discredited Infessura's account, accusing him of anti-papalism.
Beginning with Harvey's experiments with circulation of the blood, more sophisticated research into blood transfusion began in the 17th century, with successful experiments in transfusion between animals. However, successive attempts on humans continued to have fatal results.
The first fully documented human blood transfusion was administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys, eminent physician to King Louis XIV of France, on June 15, 1667. He transfused the blood of a sheep into a 15-year old boy, who survived the transfusion. Denys performed another transfusion into a labourer, who also survived. Both instances were likely due to the small amount of blood that was actually transfused into these people. This allowed them to withstand the allergic reaction. Denys' third patient to undergo a blood transfusion was Swedish Baron Bonde. He received two transfusions. After the second transfusion Bonde died. In the winter of 1667, Denys performed several transfusions on Antoine Mauroy with calf's blood, who on the third account died.

First successful transfusion
Richard Lower examined the effects of changes in blood volume on circulatory function and developed methods for cross-circulatory study in animals, obviating clotting by closed arteriovenous connections. His newly devised instruments eventually led to actual transfusion of blood.
"Many of his colleagues were present. Towards the end of February 1665 [when he] selected one dog of medium size, opened its jugular vein, and drew off blood, until ... its strength was nearly gone. Then, to make up for the great loss of this dog by the blood of a second, I introduced blood from the cervical artery of a fairly large mastiff, which had been fastened alongside the first, until this latter animal showed ... it was overfilled ... by the inflowing blood." After he "sewed up the jugular veins," the animal recovered "with no sign of discomfort or of displeasure."
Lower had performed the first blood transfusion between animals. He was then "requested by the Honorable Robert Boyle ... to acquaint the Royal Society with the procedure for the whole experiment," which he did in December of 1665 in the Society's Philosophical Transactions. On 15 June 1667 Denys, then a professor in Paris, carried out the first transfusion between humans and claimed credit for the technique, but Lower's priority cannot be challenged.

Development of blood banking
While the first transfusions had to be made directly from donor to receiver before coagulation, in the 1910s it was discovered that by adding anticoagulant and refrigerating the blood it was possible to store it for some days, thus opening the way for blood banks. The first non-direct transfusion was performed on March 27, 1914 by the Belgian doctor Albert Hustin, though this was a diluted solution of blood. The Argentine doctor Luis Agote used a much less diluted solution in November of the same year. Both used sodium citrate as an anticoagulant. The first blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled was performed on January 1, 1916. Oswald Hope Robertson, a medical researcher and U.S. Army officer, is generally credited with establishing the first blood bank while serving in France during World War I.
The first academic institution devoted to the science of blood transfusion was founded by Alexander Bogdanov in Moscow in 1925. Bogdanov was motivated, at least in part, by a search for eternal youth, and remarked with satisfaction on the improvement of his eyesight, suspension of balding, and other positive symptoms after receiving 11 transfusions of whole blood.
In fact, following the death of Vladimir Lenin, Bogdanov was entrusted with the study of Lenin's brain, with a view toward resuscitating the deceased Bolshevik leader. Bogdanov died in 1928 as a result of one of his experiments, when the blood of a student suffering from malaria and tuberculosis was given to him in a transfusion. Some scholars (e.g. Loren Graham) have speculated that his death may have been a suicide, while others attribute it to blood type incompatibility, which was not completely understood at the time.

Complications of transfusions
Transfusions of blood products is associated with several complications, which can be broadly categorized as immunologic transfusion reactions, or non-immunologic complications. Immunologic reactions include acute hemolytic reactions, delayed hemolytic reactions, febrile nonhemolytic reactions, allergic reactions, and transfusion purpura. Nonimmunologic complications include infections, volume overload, lung injury, hypothermia, and coagulopathy. The risks of complications usually increase with increasing frequency and volume of transfusion.

Immunologic reactions
Acute hemolytic reactions occur with transfusion of red blood cells, and occurs in about 0.016 percent of transfusions, with about 0.003 percent being fatal.This is due to destruction of donor erythrocytes by preformed recipient antibodies. Most often this occurs due to clerical errors or improper typing and crossmatching. Symptoms include fever, chills, chest pain, back pain, hemorrhage, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, and rapid drop in blood pressure. When suspected, transfusion should be stopped immediately, and blood sent for tests to evaluate for presence of hemolysis. Treatment is supportive. Kidney injury may occur due to the effects of the hemolytic reaction (pigment nephropathy).
Delayed hemolytic reactions occur more frequently (about 0.025 percent of transfusions) and are due to the same mechanism as in acute hemolytic reactions. However, the consequences are generally mild and a great proportion of patients may not have symptoms. However, evidence of hemolysis and falling hemoglobin levels may still occur. Treatment is generally not needed, but due to the presence of recipient antibodies, future compatibility may be affected.
Febrile nonhemolytic reactions are due to recipient antibodies to donor white blood cells, and occurs in about 7% of transfusions. This may occur after exposure from previous transfusions. Fever is generally short lived and is treated with antipyretics, and transfusions may be finished as long as an acute hemolytic reaction is excluded.
Allergic reactions may occur when the recipient has preformed antibodies to certain chemicals in the donor blood, and does not require prior exposure to transfusions. Symptoms include urticaria, prutitus, and may proceed to anaphylactic shock. Treatment is the same as for any other type 1 hypersensitivity reactions. A small population (0.13%) of patients are deficient in the immunoglobin IgA, and upon exposure to IgA-containing blood, may develop an anaphylactic reaction.
Posttransfusion purpura is a rare complication that occurs after transfusion containing platelets that express a surface protein HPA-1a. Recipients who lack this protein develop sensitization to this protein from prior transfusions, and develop thrombocytopenia about 7–10 days after subsequent transfusions. Treatment is with intravenous immunoglobulin, and recipients should only receive future transfusions with washed cells or HPA-1a negative cells.
Transfusion-associated acute lung injury (TRALI) is an increasingly recognized adverse event associated with blood transfusion. TRALI is a syndrome of acute respiratory distress, often associated with fever, non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, and hypotension, which may occur as often as 1 in 2000 transfusions. Symptoms can range from mild to life-threatening, but most patients recover fully within 96 hours, and the mortality rate from this condition is less than 10%. Although the cause of TRALI is not clear, it has been consistently associated with anti-HLA antibodies. Because these types of antibodies are commonly formed during pregnancy, several transfusion organisations have decided to use only plasma from men for transfusion . TRALI is typically associated with plasma components rather than packed red blood cells (RBCs), though there is some residual plasma in RBC units.

Bloodmobile

Bloodmobile is a mobile blood donation center. It is a vehicle (usually a bus or a large van) equipped with everything necessary for a blood donation procedure. Blood drives involving bloodmobiles usually happen in public places such as colleges and churches.
Many times large employers will sponsor mobile blood drives and allow employees a few hours off of work to donate blood. In addition, many high schools hold annual blood drives which allow students aged 16 and over to donate blood with a signed permission form. Typically students are offered snacks, T-shirts, or time out of class as an incentive, as well as positive peer-pressure.

Blood donation agencies in the United States

Nearly every hospital in the United States has a blood bank and transfusion service. The following is a list of groups that collect blood for transfusion and not a complete list of blood banks.

National organizations
American Red Cross (ARC), specifically the biomedical services division. The ARC provides about 45% of transfused blood in the US.
America's Blood Centers, a major network of non-profit community blood centers founded in 1962. Most of the independent blood centers on this list are ABC members, and these account for approximately half of the US blood supply.
United Blood Services (UBS), a member of ABC, also has a national presence, especially in the West.

Regional organizations

This is a list of organizations by state or territory. ARC and UBS are included in areas where they have donor centers. Some of the names are very similar but refer to different organizations.
[edit]A-H
Alabama
ARC
Blood Assurance, Inc.
LifeSouth Community Blood Centers
UBS
Alaska
Blood Bank of Alaska
Arizona
ARC
UBS
Arkansas
ARC
Community Blood Center of the Ozarks
Lifeblood
UBS
California
ARC
Lifestream (Formerly: Blood Bank of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties)
Blood Bank of the Redwoods
Blood Centers of the Pacific
BloodSource
Central California Blood Center
Community Blood Bank
Delta Blood Bank
Hemacare
Houchin Valley Blood Bank
San Diego Blood Bank
Marshall Community Blood Center
Northern California Blood Bank
UBS
Colorado
Bonfils Blood Center
UBS
Connecticut
ARC
Delaware
Blood Bank of Delmarva
District of Columbia
ARC
Inova Blood Donor Services
Florida
The Blood Alliance
Community Blood Centers of South Florida
Florida Blood Services
Florida's Blood Centers
LifeSouth Community Blood Centers
Northwest Florida Blood Center
Southeastern Community Blood Center
Suncoast Communities Blood Bank
Georgia
ARC
Blood Assurance, Inc.
LifeSouth Community Blood Centers
Shepeard Community Blood Center
Southeastern Community Blood Center
Hawai'i
Blood Bank of Hawaii

I-M
Idaho
ARC
Inland Northwest Blood Center
Illinois
ARC
Central Illinois Community Blood Center
Community Blood Services of Illinois
Heartland Blood Centers
LifeSource
Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center
Rock River Valley Blood Center
Indiana
ARC
Community Blood Center
Heartland Blood Center
Indiana Blood Center
South Bend Medical Foundation
Iowa
Blood Center of Iowa
Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center
Siouxland Community Blood Bank
Kansas
ARC
Community Blood Center
Kentucky
ARC
Hoxworth Blood Center
Kentucky Blood Center
Western Kentucky Regional Blood Center
Louisiane
The Blood Center
LifeShare Blood Centers
UBS
Maine
ARC
Hemacare
Maryland
ARC
Blood Bank of Delmarva
Massachusetts
ARC
Michigan
ARC
Michigan Community Blood Centers
Minnesota
ARC
Memorial Blood Centers
Mississippi
The Blood Center
Lifeblood
Mississippi Blood Services
UBS
Missouri
ARC
Community Blood Center
Community Blood Center of the Ozarks
Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center
Montana
ARC
UBS

N-R
Nebraska
ARC
Community Blood Bank
Nevada
UBS
New Hampshire
ARC
New Jersey
The Blood Center of New Jersey
Central Jersey Blood Center
Community Blood Services
New York Blood Center
New Mexico
UBS
New York
ARC
Community Blood Bank of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York
Community Blood Services
Hemacare
New York Blood Center
North Carolina
ARC
North Dakota
UBS
Ohio
ARC
Community Blood Center
Hoxworth Blood Center
LifeShare Community Blood Services
Oklahoma
ARC
Oklahoma Blood Institute
Oregon
ARC
Lane Community Blood Bank
Pennsylvania
ARC
Central Blood Bank
Central Pennsylvania Blood Bank
Community Blood Bank of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York
Miller-Keystone Blood Bank
Puerto Rico
ARC
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Blood Center

S-Z
South Carolina
ARC
The Blood Alliance
The Blood Connection, Inc.
Piedmont Blood Center
Shepeard Community Blood Center
South Dakota
UBS
Tennessee
ARC
Blood Assurance, Inc.
Lifeblood
Lifeline Blood Services
Medic Regional Blood Center

Texas
Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas
Carter BloodCare
Coastal Bend Blood Center
Coffee Memorial Blood Center
Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center
Lifeshare Blood Centers
South Texas Blood and Tissue Center
Texas Blood Institute
Texoma Regional Blood Center
UBS
Utah
ARC
Vermont
ARC
US Virgin Islands
ARC
Virginia
ARC
Blood Bank of Delmarva
Inova Blood Donor Services
Johnston Memorial Hospital
Virginia Blood Services
Washington
ARC
Cascade Regional Blood Services (Tacoma Pierce County Blood Bank)
Inland Northwest Blood Center
Puget Sound Blood Center
West Virginia
Central Blood Bank
Wisconsin
ARC
Blood Center of Wisconsin
Community Blood Center
Memorial Blood Centers
Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center
Wyoming
UBS

ABO blood group system

ABO blood group system is the most important blood type system (or blood group system) in human blood transfusion. The associated anti-A antibodies and anti-B antibodies are usually IgM antibodies, which are usually produced in the first years of life by sensitization to environmental substances such as food, bacteria, and viruses. ABO blood types are also present in some animals, for example apes such as chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas.

ABO antigens
The H antigen is an essential precursor to the ABO blood group antigens. The H locus is located on chromosome 19. It contains 3 exons that span more than 5 kb of genomic DNA, and it encodes a fucosyltransferase that produces the H antigen on RBCs. The H antigen is a carbohydrate sequence with carbohydrates linked mainly to protein (with a minor fraction attached to ceramide moiety). It consists of a chain of β-D-galactose, β-D-N-acetylglucosamine, β-D-galactose, and 2-linked, α-L-fucose, the chain being attached to the protein or ceramide.
The ABO locus is located on chromosome 9. It contains 7 exons that span more than 18 kb of genomic DNA. Exon 7 is the largest and contains most of the coding sequence. The ABO locus has three main alleleic forms: A, B, and O. The A allele encodes a glycosyltransferase that bonds α-N-acetylgalactosamine to D-galactose end of H antigen, producing the A antigen. The B allele encodes a glycosyltransferase that joins α-D-galactose bonded to D-galactose end of H antigen, creating the B antigen.
In case of O allele, the exon 6 contains a deletion that results in a loss of enzymatic activity. The O allele differs from the A allele by deletion of only one nucleotide – guanine at position 261. The deletion causes a frameshift, and results in premature termination of translation, and thus, degradation of the mRNA. This results in H antigen remaining unchanged in case of O groups.
The majority of the ABO antigens are expressed on the ends of long polylactosamine chains attached mainly to band 3 protein, the anion exchange protein of the RBC membrane, and a minority of the epitopes are expressed on neutral glycosphingolipids.

Serology
Anti-A and anti-B antibodies (called isohaemagglutinins), which are not present in the newborn, appear in the first years of life. They are isoantibodies, that is, they are produced by an individual against antigens produced by members of the same species (isoantigens). Anti-A and anti-B antibodies are usually IgM type, which are not able to pass through the placenta to the fetal blood circulation. O-type individuals can produce IgG-type ABO antibodies.

Origin theories
It is possible that food and environmental antigens (bacterial, viral, or plant antigens) have epitopes similar enough to A and B glycoprotein antigens. The antibodies created against these environmental antigens in the first years of life can cross-react with ABO-incompatible red blood cells that it comes in contact with during blood transfusion later in life. Anti-A antibodies are hypothesized to originate from immune response towards influenza virus, whose epitopes are similar enough to the α-D-N-galactosamine on the A glycoprotein to be able to elicit a cross-reaction. Anti-B antibodies are hypothesized to originate from antibodies produced against Gram-negative bacteria, such as E. coli, cross-reacting with the α-D-galactose on the B glycoprotein.
The "Light in the Dark theory" (DelNagro, 1998) suggests that, when budding viruses acquire host cell membranes from one human patient (in particular, from the lung and mucosal epithelium where they are highly expressed), they also take along ABO blood antigens from those membranes, and may carry them into secondary recipients where these antigens can elicit a host immune response against these non-self foreign blood antigens. These viral-carried human blood antigens may be responsible for priming newborns into producing neutralizing antibodies against foreign blood antigens. Support for this theory has come to light in recent experiments with HIV. HIV can be neutralized in "in-vitro" experiments using antibodies against blood group antigens specifically expressed on the HIV-producing cell lines.
The "Light in the Dark theory" suggests a new novel evolutionary hypothesis: There is true communal immunity, which has developed to reduce the inter-transmissibility of viruses within a population. It suggests that individuals in a population supply and make a diversity of unique antigenic moieties so as to keep the population as a whole more resistant to infection. A system set up ideally to work with variable recessive alleles.
However, it is more likely that the force driving evolution of allele diversity is simply negative frequency-dependent selection; cells with rare variants of membrane antigens are more easily distinguished by the immune system from pathogens carrying antigens from other hosts. Thus, individuals possessing rare types are better equipped to detect pathogens. The high within-population diversity observed in human populations would, then, be a consequence of natural selection on individuals

Nonantigen biology
The carbohydrate molecules on the surfaces of red blood cells have roles in cell membrane integrity, cell adhesion, membrane transportation of molecules, and acting as receptors for extracellular ligands, and enzymes. ABO antigens are found having similar roles on epithelial cells as well as red blood cells.

Transfusion reactions
Due to the presence of isoantibodies against non-self blood group antigens, individuals of type A blood group immediately raise anti-B antibodies against B-blood group RBCs if transfused with blood from B group. The anti-B antibodies bind to B antigens on RBCs and cause complement-mediated lysis of the RBCs. The same happens for B and O groups (which raises both anti-A and anti-B antibodies). However, only blood group AB does not have anti-A and anti-B isoantibodies. This is because both A and B-antigens are present on the RBCs and are both self-antigens, hence they can receive blood from all groups and are universal recipient.
As far as transfusion compatibility is concerned, it is not strictly as simple as matching A, B, and O groups. In other words, no individual will ever receive a blood transfusion based on the ABO system alone. The rhesus factor must also be considered. Together, the rhesus factor and ABO grouping are the two most important compatibility factors to consider. An individual may be Rh+ or Rh-. In simpler terms, if an individual is blood type A and positive for the rhesus factor, then he or she is deemed "A+".

History of discoveries
The ABO blood group system is widely credited to have been discovered by the Austrian scientist Karl Landsteiner, who found three different blood types in 1900; he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1930 for his work. Due to inadequate communication at the time it was subsequently found that Czech serologist Jan Janský had independently pioneered the classification of human blood into four groups, but Landsteiner's independent discovery had been accepted by the scientific world while Janský remained in relative obscurity. Janský's classification is however still used in Russia and states of former USSR (see below). In America, Moss published his own (very similar) work in 1910.
Landsteiner described A, B, and O; Alfred von Decastello and Adriano Sturli discovered the fourth type, AB, in 1902. Ludwik Hirszfeld and E. von Dungern discovered the heritability of ABO blood groups in 1910–11, with Felix Bernstein demonstrating the correct blood group inheritance pattern of multiple alleles at one locus in 1924. Watkins and Morgan, in England, discovered that the ABO epitopes were conferred by sugars, to be specific, N-acetylgalactosamine for the A-type and galactose for the B-type. After much published literature claiming that the ABH substances were all attached to glycosphingolipids, Laine's group (1988) found that the band 3 protein expressed a long polylactosamine chain that contains the major portion of the ABH substances attached. Later, Yamamoto's group showed the precise glycosyl transferase set that confers the A, B and O epitopes.

World Blood Donor Day

World Blood Donor Day is day dedicated to "thanking and celebrating voluntary non-remunerated blood donors". It occurs on June 14, the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, the creator of the ABO blood group system, for which he won the Nobel Prize. The first day was held in 2005.
One of the main goals of the World Blood Donor Day is to ensure the availability of 'safe blood' for transfusion.

I'd always intended to give blood, but never quite got round to it. The inaugural National Blood Week (13-19 June 2011), when NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) was encouraging 10,000 new donors to "make a date to donate", seemed a good time to start.

The process is simple. I went along to my local donation centre, filled in a couple of forms and drank a big glass of water. I had a "thumb-prick test" to check my iron levels – luckily, I'd been eating enough leafy greens. Then I lay on a bed and looked the other way while a needle was inserted into a vein in my arm. I chatted to a colleague to distract myself for about 10 minutes while the blood was taken, gently clenching and unclenching my fist to boost circulation.

Afterwards, I sat down with a cold drink and some biscuits (tea, contrary to popular belief, isn't allowed after your first donation). I'd been worried about feeling faint, but I was absolutely fine. The needle itself did hurt a little, but it was soon over. The whole process took about 30 minutes from start to finish, and I felt ashamed that I hadn't done it before.

The blood transfusion will not damage your health; instead, it will save lives of the patients who are in urgent need of blood, " he said.

Hok Kim Cheng, director of National Blood Transfusion Center, said that 3 out of 1,000 people donate blood in Cambodia; it's still low if compared with other developing countries that the blood donation rate is up to 5 among 1,000 people.

Last year, the center has received voluntary donations of 40, 245 units of blood, up 12 percent from 35,895 units in a year earlier.

All blood had been tested for four types of diseases: HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, and malaria, he said, adding that last year, 9 percent of the blood was founded with these diseases and destroyed.

One of the blood donors Moeung Dara said that he donated his blood regularly every three months and he has done it for three years.

"In the past, I had a disease and needed an urgent surgery, at that time, the center donated blood to save my life in the surgery, " he said. "So, to express my grateful thanks to the center and the previous donors, I decided to donate my blood regularly to the center."

A Buddhist monk Svay Sothea is one of the donors.

"This is the 24th time that I donate my blood to the center," he said. "I'm very happy to donate the blood as it will be helpful to save lives of patients in urgent need."

Blood donation

Blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions or made into medications by a process called fractionation.
In the developed world, most blood donors are unpaid volunteers who give blood for a community supply. In poorer countries, established supplies are limited and donors usually give blood when family or friends need a transfusion. Many donors donate as an act of charity, but some are paid and in some cases there are incentives other than money such as paid time off from work. A donor can also have blood drawn for their own future use. Donating is relatively safe, but some donors have bruising where the needle is inserted or may feel faint.
Potential donors are evaluated for anything that might make their blood unsafe to use. The screening includes testing for diseases that can be transmitted by a blood transfusion, including HIV and viral hepatitis. The donor is also asked about medical history and given a short physical examination to make sure that the donation is not hazardous to his or her health. How often a donor can give varies from days to months based on what he or she donates and the laws of the country where the donation takes place. For example, in the United States donors must wait 8 weeks (56 days) between whole blood donations but only three days between plateletpheresis donations.
The amount of blood drawn and the methods vary. The collection can be done manually or with automated equipment that only takes specific portions of the blood. Most of the components of blood used for transfusions have a short shelf life, and maintaining a constant supply is a persistent problem.

Recipient safety
Donors are screened for health risks that might make the donation unsafe for the recipient. Some of these restrictions are controversial, such as restricting donations from men who have sex with men for HIV risk.Autologous donors are not always screened for recipient safety problems since the donor is the only person who will receive the blood. Donors are also asked about medications such as dutasteride since they can be dangerous to a pregnant woman receiving the blood.
Donors are examined for signs and symptoms of diseases that can be transmitted in a blood transfusion, such as HIV, malaria, and viral hepatitis. Screening may extend to questions about risk factors for various diseases, such as travel to countries at risk for malaria or variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD). These questions vary from country to country. For example, while blood centers in Québec, Poland, and many other places defer donors who lived in the United Kingdom for risk of vCJD, donors in the United Kingdom are only restricted for vCJD risk if they have had a blood transfusion in the United Kingdom.

Donor safety
The donor is also examined and asked specific questions about their medical history to make sure that donating blood is not hazardous to their health. The donor's hematocrit or hemoglobin level is tested to make sure that the loss of blood will not make them anemic, and this check is the most common reason that a donor is ineligible. Pulse, blood pressure, and body temperature are also evaluated. Elderly donors are sometimes also deferred on age alone because of health concerns. The safety of donating blood during pregnancy has not been studied thoroughly and pregnant women are usually deferred.

Blood testing
The donor's blood type must be determined if the blood will be used for transfusions. The collecting agency usually identifies whether the blood is type A, B, AB, or O and the donor's Rh (D) type and will screen for antibodies to less common antigens. More testing, including a crossmatch, is usually done before a transfusion. Group O is often cited as the "universal donor" but this only refers to red cell transfusions. For plasma transfusions the system is reversed and AB is the universal donor type.
Most blood is tested for diseases, including some STDs. The tests used are high-sensitivity screening tests and no actual diagnosis is made. Some of the test results are later found to be false positives using more specific testing. False negatives are rare, but donors are discouraged from using blood donation for the purpose of anonymous STD screening because a false negative could mean a contaminated unit. The blood is usually discarded if these tests are positive, but there are some exceptions, such as autologous donations. The donor is generally notified of the test result.
Donated blood is tested by many methods, but the core tests recommended by the World Health Organization are these four:
Hepatitis B Surface Antigen
Antibody to Hepatitis C
Antibody to HIV, usually subtypes 1 and 2
Serologic test for Syphilis
The WHO reported in 2006 that 56 out of 124 countries surveyed did not use these basic tests on all blood donations.
A variety of other tests for transfusion transmitted infections are often used based on local requirements. Additional testing is expensive, and in some cases the tests are not implemented because of the cost. These additional tests include other infectious diseases such as West Nile Virus. Sometimes multiple tests are used for a single disease to cover the limitations of each test. For example, the HIV antibody test will not detect a recently infected donor, so some blood banks use a p24 antigen or HIV nucleic acid test in addition to the basic antibody test to detect infected donors during that period. Cytomegalovirus is a special case in donor testing in that many donors will test positive for it.The virus is not a hazard to a healthy recipient, but it can harm infants and other recipients with weak immune systems.

Storage, supply and demand
The collected blood is usually stored as separate components, and some of these have short shelf lives. There are no storage solutions to keep platelets for extended periods of time, though some are being studied as of 2008. The longest shelf life used for platelets is seven days. Red blood cells, the most frequently used component, have a shelf life of 35–42 days at refrigerated temperatures. This can be extended by freezing the blood with a mixture of glycerol but this process is expensive, rarely done, and requires an extremely cold freezer for storage. Plasma can be stored frozen for an extended period of time and is typically given an expiration date of one year and maintaining a supply is less of a problem.
The limited storage time means that it is difficult to have a stockpile of blood to prepare for a disaster. The subject was discussed at length after the September 11th attacks in the United States, and the consensus was that collecting during a disaster was impractical and that efforts should be focused on maintaining an adequate supply at all times. Blood centers in the U.S. often have difficulty maintaining even a three day supply for routine transfusion demands.
The World Health Organization recognizes World Blood Donor Day on 14th June each year to promote blood donation. This is the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, the scientist who discovered the ABO blood group system. As of 2008, the WHO estimated that more than 81 million units of blood were being collected annually.

Benefits and incentives
The World Health Organization set a goal in 1997 for all blood donations to come from unpaid volunteer donors, but as of 2006, only 49 of 124 countries surveyed had established this as a standard. Some Plasmapheresis donors in the United States are still paid for donations. A few countries rely on paid donors to maintain an adequate supply. Some countries, such as Tanzania, have made great strides in moving towards this standard, with 20 percent of donors in 2005 being unpaid volunteers and 80 percent in 2007, but 68 of 124 countries surveyed by WHO had made little or no progress. In some countries, for example Brazil, it is illegal to receive any compensation, monetary or otherwise, for the donation of blood or other human tissues.
In patients prone to iron overload, blood donation prevents the accumulation of toxic quantities.Donating blood may reduce the risk of heart disease for men, but the link has not been firmly established.
In Italy, blood donors receive the donation day as a paid holiday from work. Other incentives are sometimes added by employers, usually time off for the purposes of donating. Blood centers will also sometimes add incentives such as assurances that donors would have priority during shortages, free T-shirts or other small trinkets (e.g., first aid kits, windshield scrapers, pens, etc.), or other programs such as prize drawings for donors and rewards for organizers of successful drives. Most allogeneic blood donors donate as an act of charity and do not expect to receive any direct benefit from the donation.
The sociologist Richard Titmuss, in his 1970 book The Gift Relationship: From Human Blood to Social Policy, compared the merits of the commercial and non-commercial blood donation systems of the USA and the UK. The book became a bestseller in the USA, resulting in legislation to regulate the private market in blood. The book is still referenced in modern debates about turning blood into a commodity.The book was republished in 1997 and the same ideas and principles are applied to analogous donation programs, such as organ donation and sperm donation.