ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a review of the major human blood groups, detailing their nature and properties, followed by a section on blood transfusion, including discussion of the laboratory determination of blood groups and the specialized tests used for that purpose, and a section on blood transfusion reactions and their multiple causes. The later two-thirds of the chapter are dedicated to immune-mediated cytopenias, including hemolytic disease of the newborn, autoimmune hemolytic anemias, cold agglutinin disease, drug-induced hemolytic anemias, autoimmune thrombocytopenias, autoimmune neutropenia, and autoimmune coagulopathies. The discussion of these diseases includes clinical presentation, pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, and therapeutic approaches.
