Hematological studies were carried out serially on the blood donors.
When 400ml, of blood were withdrawn each month from healthy males with supposedly normal iron stores, the reduction in the serum iron concentration became manifest within five to six months.
Decrease of the hemoglobin concentration and of packed red cell volume followed approximately one month later. Red cell counts were only slightly reduced or unchanged, and the anemia was hypochromic and microcytic in type.
In females or subjects with supposedly depleted iron stores, the anemia became more manifest in shorter periods after repeated donations than normal adult males.
The significance of the storage iron in the development of the anemia was discussed.

View full abstract

1) Out of 6, 000 cases in our Blood Transfusion Service, we found 2 instances in which the serum agglutinins were found to differ from the usual finding.
2) The blood of these individuals was identified to belong to group A, but in their sera no anti-B isoagglutinin could be found by the usual method of testing.
3) These cases were not considered to be that of so-called agammaglobulinemia, as judged from the results of paperelectrophoresis and serological tests including the gammaglobulin neutralisation test using Coombs technique.
4) Suspecting these cases to represent a violation of Landsteiner's law, efforts were made to demonstrate the presence of feeble antibodies at low temperatures, but we failed to find any antibody having anti-B specificity.
5) Investigations of one of these sera employing various immunohematological procedures led to no special findings. However, we did succeed in finding B substances in the sera. From the resuslts of our tests, it was concluded that such instances represent those of a rare of variety of group AB.

View full abstract

The authors have experienced four unusual cases of blood group AB. In two of them we could not find B blood group substance in their red cells, in spite of its presence in their saliva and in their sera.
It is interesting that in our country six such cases have already been reported, all belonging to the defective type of B blood group substance in their red cells. In other two cases we found irregular anti-A and anti-B agglutinins in their sera respectively, most active at the refrigerator temperature.
For the differentiation of subgroups we have utilised incomplete anti-A or anti-B agglutinin and found it to be available.

View full abstract