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
Blood type or anti-B antibodies. Typically, blood type tests are performed through addition of a blood sample to a solution containing antibodies corresponding to each antigen. The presence of an antigen on the surface of the blood cells is indicated by agglutination. An alternative system for blood type determination involving no antibodies was developed in 2017 at Imperial College London which makes use of paramagnetic molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles with affinity for specific blood antigens. In these tests, rather than agglutination, a positive result is indicated by decolorization as red blood cells which bind to the nanoparticles are pulled toward a magnet