Question

Blood grouping was discovered by

• A. William Harvey
• B. Robert Koch
• C. Landsteiner
• D. Louis Pasteur

Answer 1

The correct option is C Landsteiner

It was not until the year 1900, when Karl Landsteiner at the University of Vienna, discovered why some blood transfusions were successful while others could be deadly. Landsteiner discovered the ABO blood group system by mixing the red cells and serum of each of his staff. He demonstrated that the serum of some people agglutinated the red cells of other. From these early experiments, he identified three types, called A, B and C. The fourth less frequent blood group AB, was discovered a year later. In 1930, Landsteiner received the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine for his work. The gene that determines human ABO blood type is located on chromosome 9 and is called ABO glycosyltransferase. The ABO locus has three main allelic forms: A, B, and O, as mentioned above and each of them is responsible for the production of its glycoprotein. It is therefore the combination of alleles that are inherited from parents that determines which glycoproteins (antigens) are found on person's’ blood cells and thereby their ABO blood type.

So the correct option is 'Landsteiner'.