General Information

Lab 8 uses the Ward’s Blood Typing Kit, which simulates blood typing in a lab using synthetic blood and antibodies.

In this lab, students will:

• Practice a blood typing technique.
• Learn to make inferences about antigens, antibodies and blood type compatibility.

Purchasing Information

Required materials for Lab 8 include:

• Ward’s Simulated ABO Blood Typing Kit — 1 complete kit for every 2 students
  • Find it on the Ward’s Science website: Simulated ABO and Rh Blood Typing Lab Activity (Ward’s Science, n.d.a).
  • This kit comes with:
    • Blood typing trays
    • Mixing sticks
    • 4 squeeze bottles of synthetic blood (Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones, Ms. Brown and Mr. Green)
    • Squeeze bottles of antibodies — Anti-A, Anti-B, and Anti-Rh
  • If you run low on supplies, you can also buy a refill kit: Simulated ABO Blood Typing Kit (Ward’s Science, n.d.b).
• Ward’s Simulated Blood Typing “Whodunnit Kit” — 1 complete kit for every 2 students
  • Find it on the Ward’s Science website: Simulated Blood Typing “Whodunit” Kit (Ward’s Science, n.d.c).
  • This kit comes with:
    • Blood typing trays
    • Mixing sticks
    • 6 squeeze bottles of synthetic blood (Victim, Crime Scene, Suspects 1-4)
    • Squeeze bottles of antibodies — Anti-A, Anti-B, and Anti-Rh
  • If you run low on supplies, you can also buy a refill kit.

Lab Setup

Lab Activity Setup

Time: Approx. 15 minutes

Organize the materials into Ziploc bags. Make sure to have enough pre-made bags so each pair of students has one.

Blood typing activity bag:

• 1 vial of each of the 4 synthetic bloods
• 1 vial of each of the 3 types of antibodies
• 2 mixing trays
• 2 mixing sticks

Whodunnit activity bag:

• 1 vial of each of the four suspects’ blood and the murder scene blood
• 1 vial of each of the 3 types of antibodies
• 2 mixing trays
• 2 mixing sticks

Board Notes

Welcome to Lab 8: Blood Typing

• Please hand in:
  • Post Lab 7
  • Pre Lab 8
• Work with a partner
• Make sure to mix the antibody and blood for at least 20 seconds (sing “Happy Birthday” in your head)
• Clean out trays right after you record results (if the trays sit too long, it wrecks them)
• Do not let your skin come into contact with the “blood” or “antibodies” if at all possible
• Return your activity baggie with all the supplies it came with
• Wipe down your lab bench when you are all done

Setup Photos

These are not setup photos. They are a step-by-step walkthrough of how blood typing works.

Figure 8.1: Lab 8 Step 1: Tray (Credit: Christine Miller) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
Figure 8.2: Lab 8 Step 2: Add blood (Credit: Christine Miller) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
Figure 8.3: Lab 8 Step 3: Add antibodies (Credit: Christine Miller) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
Figure 8.4: Lab 8 Step 4: Mix and read results (Credit: Christine Miller) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license

Media Attributions

• Figures 8.1 to 8.4, by the author, are under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

References

Ward’s Science. (n.d.a). Simulated ABO and Rh blood typing lab activity. https://www.wardsci.com/store/product/12057590/simulated-abo-and-rh-blood-typing-lab-activity.

Ward’s Science. (n.d.b). Simulated ABO blood typing kit. https://www.wardsci.com/store/product/10424340/simulated-abo-blood-typing-kit.

Ward’s Science. (n.d.c). Simulated blood typing “whodunit” kit. https://www.wardsci.com/store/product/10424325/simulated-blood-typing-whodunit-kit.