Immunohematology studies blood transfusion processes and complications, including how red blood cells react to foreign cells, to develop safer transfusion methods and diagnose blood-related diseases. It requires knowledge of immunology, genetics, and serology. An immunohematologist performs tasks such as preparing blood for transfusion, testing newborns, and diagnosing blood diseases. The field is important for understanding how the body reacts to foreign cells and mitigating damage from blood diseases. The effectiveness of an immunohematologist is limited by the medical technology available in their geographical area.
Immunohematology is a branch of medicine that deals primarily with the processes and complications surrounding blood transfusions. Immunohematologists study how red blood cells react to foreign blood cells. This allows them to develop safer and more reliable methodologies for blood transfusion and also provides insight into several blood-related diseases involving the interaction between antibodies and antigens.
The study of immunohematology requires knowledge of a few different medical disciplines. An understanding of immunology is important because the immunohematologist will be dealing with antibodies. Knowledge of genetics is needed to help type different blood antigens. Serology needs to be studied because of its relevance to working with blood. Combined, these give a practitioner the ability to perform several key functions involved in blood transfusions.
An experienced immunohematologist performs a variety of tasks, including preparing blood and blood components for storage or transfusion. Another responsibility is to test newborns for immediate blood disorders. Very often an immunohaematologist does cross-matching to be sure that a transfusion will not cause unnecessary complications Detecting and diagnosing different blood diseases in patients also falls under the description of what an immunohaematologist does.
The study of immunohematology is a complex and necessary field of expertise because of how the body reacts under certain conditions. When a body’s red blood cells encounter foreign red blood cells that have certain antigens on their surfaces, the cells will create antibodies. These antibodies will destroy the foreign cells. Immunohematology tries to learn as much as possible about the hundreds of different antigens that exist, so there will be a way to transfuse blood without causing antibodies to be produced.
There are also blood diseases that can cause serious damage. An immunohematologist studies these diseases so that they can be accurately diagnosed and hopefully mitigate some of the damage that is done. A disease that occurs in pregnant women causes red blood cells to attack cells in the body, releasing hemoglobin which could lead to kidney failure. These are the types of diseases that immunohematology deals with.
Immunohaematology is a practice closely linked to the medical technology available within a geographical area: not all areas of the world are able to transfuse blood or access the machinery necessary to identify the different antigenic groups. Other areas transfuse infrequently and do not maintain adequate equipment in place, in which case the effectiveness of an immunohematologist is limited.
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