Q 01/05

Blood types are defined by antigens on the surface of what?

A) White cells

B) Platelets

C) Plasma proteins

D) Red cells

Answer · why

D) Red cells

Red cells: ABO antigens also coat many other body tissues, so a mismatch can also provoke an immune reaction against a transplanted organ.

Q 02/05

Which two blood group systems matter most when matching blood for a transfusion?

A) Kidd and Duffy

B) ABO and Rh

C) Diego and Lewis

D) Lutheran and Dombrock

Answer · why

B) ABO and Rh

ABO and Rh: ABO antibodies form naturally in early childhood, so even a first transfusion of the wrong ABO type can trigger a deadly reaction.

Q 03/05

How many human blood group systems did the ISBT recognise as of 2025?

A) 2

B) 8

C) 48

D) 150

Answer · why

C) 48

48: most matter little day to day, because antibodies against them are far less likely than ABO or Rh ones to cause a transfusion reaction.

Q 04/05

Whose 1628 book describing the circulation of the blood made the idea of transfusion possible?

A) Andreas Vesalius

B) William Harvey

C) Edward Jenner

D) Joseph Lister

Answer · why

B) William Harvey

William Harvey: showing that blood travels round the body in a closed loop suggested it could be passed from one animal into another.

Q 05/05

In 1665, physician Richard Lower pioneered blood transfusion by passing blood between two of which animal?

A) Dogs

B) Sheep

C) Pigs

D) Horses

Answer · why

A) Dogs

Dogs: two years later he gave a man sheep's blood in front of the Royal Society.