Critical Thinking Question (5 pts.) (You may use the back of the page to write y

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?

Explanation / Answer

1. Though Mike and Jake had blood type O, they both differed in the expression of one more antigen on the surface of their RBC which is the Rh factor. Mike must be Rh+, which means Mike RBC have Rh antigen on their surface. On the other hand, Jake must be Rh- which means Jake RBC do not express Rh factor. After the first blood transfusion, Jake's immune system recognized Mike's Rh factor as foreign and elicited an immune response. Primary immune response is slow and it takes around 2 weeks for the development of antigen specific antibodies during primary immune response. So, Jake became anemic 2 weeks after transfusion as the antibodies formed against the Rh antigen destroyed the RBC.

2. When Jake was transfused with Mike's blood for a second time, the memory B cells immediately recognized the Rh antigen and mounted an immediate immune response because of which Jake went into anaphylactic shock and almost died.

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