
ABO Incompatibility Reaction
- Health
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- 5 minutes read
What is an ABO incompatibility reaction?
ABO is an abbreviation of the different four basic blood groups based on the presence or absence of an antigen in the red blood cells. These blood groups are A, AB, B, and O based on the different antigens located on the red blood cells.
A person experiences an ABO incompatibility reaction when he or she receives the wrong type of blood during a transfusion. It is a rare but fatal medical error. The symptoms are due to a response by your immune system to incompatible blood.
This is what happens in an ABO incompatibility reaction: The immune system manufactures antibodies not present in the recipient’s blood. The antibodies fight these strange antigens so as to eliminate it. Although this reaction seems to be protective in reality, the immune system does not know it is actually destructive to the recipient’s life. In the process, the red blood cells are destroyed.
The only person that will always escape this reaction is an AB recipient. He or she can receive blood from anyone in the four different blood groups.
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Causes of ABO incompatibility reaction
Medica/human error is the major cause of an ABO incompatibility reaction. If you are transfused with the wrong blood type, it could be attributed to mislabeled blood, failure to examine the blood before transfusion, or incorrectly completed forms.
Symptoms of ABO incompatibility reaction
Symptoms of an ABO incompatibility reaction usually manifest within a few minutes of receiving a blood transfusion. They include:
- chills and fever
- a strong feeling that you are about to experience something bad
- breathing difficulties
- nausea
- muscle aches
- jaundice
- blood in your urine
- back pain
- pains in your stomach
- chest pain
Diagnosis for ABO incompatibility reaction
If you react to blood transfusion, your healthcare provider will stop the transfusion immediately. Then they will launch an investigation.
They will obtain a sample of your blood to test for damage to your red blood cells. This will help them to know whether there is a reaction or not. The presence of hemoglobin in your urine indicates that your red cells are damaged.
Your healthcare provider will also monitor your vital sign. These include:
- breathing rate
- blood pressure
- heart rate
- temperature
Treatments for ABO incompatibility reaction
You will probably be taken to the intensive care unit.
The aim of the treatment is to ensure that you do not develop complications such as kidney failure, low blood pressure, or excessive clotting of your blood.
You will be given intravenous fluid, platelet, and plasma transmission to help build your blood volume and check excessive blood clotting. Your urine output will have to be increased so you can get rid of excessive blood products resulting from red blood cell damage. A drug will be given to you to achieve this.
How to prevent an ABO incompatibility reaction
This is largely in the hands of the medical personnel involved in the blood transfusion process. If the blood samples are properly labeled, if the blood groups of the two people involved – donor and recipient – are carefully detailed and compared before the actual transfusion, ABO compatibility reaction will be way impossible.
Long-term outlook
Any of the following can result from an incompatibility reaction;
- Kidney failure due to products of red blood cells damage
- Liver failure
- Stroke
- Blood clotting
- Uncontrollable and excessive internal bleeding due to loss of clotting factors in the blood.
- Chronic anemia
Either of these can be promptly attended to before they grow into complications that are life-threatening.

Tonika Bruce, also known as The Network Nurse, is a multi-talented individual with a career spanning over 20 years. She’s a Registered Nurse, speaker, author, and advocate for change, excelling in business building and team development. Tonika holds two Master’s degrees in Nursing and Business Administration, (MSN & MBA) and is currently pursuing her Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Executive Leadership.
Her expertise extends to various fields such as nursing, entrepreneurship, business, basketball coaching, and executive leadership. She is a published author of “Relentless Pursuit: Proven Tips for Unlocking Your Potentials, Limitless Success and Post COVID Syndrome: A Guide to Repositioning the Nursing Profession for A Post COVID Era”. Currently, Tonika is working on Thrudemic, an anthology examining the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on medical professionals and patients.