Blood type transfusion can be considered safe as long as the serum of the recipient does not contain antibodies for the blood cell antigens of the donor. The "ABO system" is the most important blood-group system in human-blood transfusion. The associated anti-A and anti-B antibodies are usually "immunoglobulin M", abbreviated IgM, antibodies. ABO IgM antibodies are produced in the first years of life by sensitization to environmental substances such as food, bacteria, and viruses. The original terminology used by Karl Landsteiner in 1901 for the classification was A/B/C; in later publications "C" became "O". Type O is often called "0" ("zero", or
Hh blood group are IgM and IgG (and this seems to have a very important role in the low frequency of hemolytic disease of the newborn among non-Bombay offspring of Bombay mothers). It is very important, in order to avoid any complications during a blood transfusion, to detect Bombay phenotype individuals, because the usual tests for ABO blood group system would show them as group O. Since Anti-H immunoglobulins can activate the complement cascade, it will lead to the lysis of red blood cells while they are still in the circulation, provoking an acute hemolytic transfusion reaction. This, of course, cannot be prevented