Grupos sanguíneos e anticorpos anti-eritrocitários de importância transfusional

Immunohematology is an area dedicated to the study of the interactions of the immune system and blood cells in transfusion practice. Blood transfusion is a therapeutic technique that has been widely used since the 17th century. The transfusion medicine aims to repair the pathological needs of blood components in the living organism, be it red blood cells, plasma, platelets, clotting factors, among others. Despite being a therapeutic means, transfusion of blood components can be considered at risk because it is a biological material and due to the transfusion immunological reactions that can be caused during or after the moment of transfusion. In the surface structure of red blood cells, numerous molecules of a protein, glycoprotein or glycolipid nature are found, which are also called membrane antigens that make up structures and perform transport functions, as receptors, as adhesion, enzymatic and / or complement regulatory molecules. The formation of these antigens occurs by an approximate amount of 39 genes involved in their production, of which 282 different antigens are organized in more than 30 blood group systems. This antigenic diversity is a major cause of the formation of irregular anti-erythrocyte antibodies. Therefore, with the increase in blood transfusions in surgeries, transplants and clinical treatment of cancer and other chronic diseases, a significant increase in the occurrence of alloimmunizations in polytransfused patients began to be observed. Such biological phenomena motivated us to carry out this study and the antigenic diversity motivated us to elaborate this small compendium where we also describe the main blood groups.