The 2 major blood group (also called blood type) classifications are the ABO system and the rhesus system. Use capitals for the ABO system:
Use lower case for the term group (or type):
The rhesus system consists of 50 defined blood-group antigens, among which the 5 antigens D, C, c, E and e are the most important. The commonly used terms Rh factor, Rh positive and Rh negative refer to the D antigen (which is the most immunogenic of the 5 Rh antigens). Use the following notation to denote the presence or absence of the D antigen:
Rh(D) positive Rh(D) negative [no space between Rh and (D)]
Rhesus disease (hemolytic disease of the newborn) occurs if an RhD-negative woman carries an RhD-positive baby.
Treatment is with anti-RhD immunoglobulin (referred to in Australia as ‘anti-D’).
