Reflections: Blood Typing

     In last week's lab, we did a process where we actually tested our own or someone else's blood type. I was interested in the lab because I had never been tested for my blood type before and I was curios in finding out. We started the procedure by cleaning the finger that was going to be used. Then we pricked the finger and pointed it downward to help the blood flow, we also massaged the palm to further aid in the blood flow. This method really improved the amount of blood flow that we got because before doing this we were unsuccessful in obtaining enough blood for testing. After we had sufficient blood we placed a drop on three different slides. On the first slide, we added anti-A, on the second slide we added anti- B, and on the third slide we added the anti- Rh. The agglutination of the blood and antigen determined which blood type was present. This test is fairly reliable, of course, you are better off having your blood type tested by a professional. My results showed that I am blood type O. So, if anyone needs blood, I can be your donor!