Packed red blood cells Rh type, specifically the phenotype, and the "screen" refers to testing for atypical antibodies that might cause transfusion problems. The typing and screening are also performed on donor blood. The blood groups represent antigens on the surface of the red blood cells which might react with antibodies in the recipient. The ABO blood group system has four basic phenotypes: O, A, B, and AB. In the former Soviet Union these were called I, II, III, and IV, respectively. There are two important antigens in the system: A and B. Red cells without A or B are called type O, and
ABO blood group system life by sensitization to environmental substances, such as food, bacteria, and viruses. The ABO blood types were discovered by Karl Landsteiner in 1901, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1930. ABO blood types are also present in some other animals such as rodents and apes, including chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas. The ABO blood types were first discovered by an Austrian Physician Karl Landsteiner working at the Pathological-Anatomical Institute of the University of Vienna (now Medical University of Vienna). In 1900, he found that blood sera from different persons would clump together (agglutinate) when mixed