The foundation of all immunohematology testing is rooted in an understanding of the relationship between antibodies and their corresponding antigens. To achieve this, there are a few crucial concepts that must be understood:
The A's of Immunology - Antigen composition and structure
- Antibody structure and class
- Affinity
- Avidity
- Agglutination
With regard to ABO testing, it is important to recognize the difference between naturally occurring and acquired antibodies, which are targeted to specific antigens located on the red blood cell. We will explain this more in the ABO Testing section of this module.
