ISBT
Definition
International Society of Blood Transfusion. The authority that catalogues and numbers the 35+ recognised blood group systems.
- Full name
- International Society of Blood Transfusion
- Role
- Catalogues and numbers recognised blood group systems
- Systems catalogued
- 35+ recognised blood group systems
- Relevance
- Reference authority behind ABO, Rh and other system nomenclature
Common questions
Why does forensic blood-group typing rely on an ISBT-numbered system rather than informal names?+
ISBT numbering gives every blood group system and antigen a standardised identifier, which avoids the ambiguity of overlapping historical names and lets forensic reports and transfusion records reference the same system consistently across laboratories and countries.
Has ISBT blood grouping been replaced by DNA profiling in forensic casework?+
DNA profiling has largely superseded ABO and other blood-group serology for individual identification because it offers far greater discriminating power, but blood-group testing still has a role in transfusion medicine and in re-examining older casework samples that were typed before DNA methods existed.
Related terms
- ABO System
- The blood-group classification described by Karl Landsteiner in 1901: groups A, B, AB, and O, defined by antigens on red-cell surfaces and...
- Agglutination
- Clumping of red cells that occurs when antibodies in serum bind to incompatible antigens on the cell surface, cross-linking cells into visible...
- Antibody (Isohaemagglutinin)
- An immunoglobulin in plasma directed against red-cell antigens the host does not carry. Group O serum carries anti-A and anti-B; group AB...
- Antigen
- A molecule recognised by the adaptive immune system through specific binding to an antibody or T-cell receptor. Defined by immunogenicity (capacity to...
- Bombay Phenotype (Oh, Hh)
- Y. M. Bhende, 1952, K.E.M. Hospital Mumbai. Homozygous absence of the H antigen, so neither A nor B can be expressed; types...
- MNS System
- A blood group system comprising M and N antigens on glycophorin A (GYPA) and S and s antigens on glycophorin B (GYPB)....
- Rh System
- A blood group system defined by antigens on two proteins encoded by the RHD and RHCE genes on chromosome 1. The clinically...
- Secretor Status
- A genetic trait that determines whether a person expresses their ABO blood group antigens in secreted body fluids such as saliva, semen,...