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Articles on Blood transfusion

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Blood has special traits unique to every person. TippaPatt/www.shutterstock.com

What are blood types?

Every person’s blood is identified by type. Why does this matter?
Donor blood must be compatible with the patient’s blood to minimise the chance of a transfusion reaction. Toby Melville/Reuters

Explainer: what are blood groups and why do they matter?

Our bodies contain trillions of red blood cells. Each is covered in an array of proteins and sugars, inherited from our parents, which determine our blood group.
Creutzfeld-Jacob disease occurs in about one to two in every million people each year, most often in late middle-age. Andrew Mason/Flickr

Rare and deadly, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease remains a bit of a medical mystery

News that a Sydney man has contracted Creutzfeld-Jacob disease serves to highlight that we still don’t know how to prevent a disease that most often goes unreported, and unremarked on.

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