Mondo Knows Facts
Blood groups depend on sugars on red cells
A and B markers are sugar chains, while type O cells carry neither The ABO system is defined by carbohydrate antigens built onto red cell surface proteins. Type A adds N-acetylgalactosamine, type B adds galactose, and type AB has both. Type O lacks the final sugar, which is why it is often described as the absence of A and B. It sits in Mondo's human body collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.
Where this comes from
American Society of Hematology
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Tags: blood, antigens, groups
Blood groups depend on sugars on red cells: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- A and B markers are sugar chains, while type O cells carry neither. The figure is taken from American Society of Hematology, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a human body fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Human Body shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.