Human Blood Groups Chemical and Biochemical Basis of Antigen Specificity

Although a few books covering primarily serological aspects of human blood groups are available, it became clear to me in the course of my research that no compendium of the non-serological aspects of human blood group systems exists. This book has been written to facilitate access to the vast number of publications scattered throughout the literature in both chemical and medical journals on the chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology of blood groups. It is designed as a concise survey for use by blood bankers and researchers in biochemistry, blood group serology, immunohaemotology, forensic medicine, population genetics, and anthropology; the text is supplemented by numerous illustrations and tables. This volume encompasses the entire field of blood group serology and provides a comprehensive survey of present knowledge in the field. The serological aspects have been kept to a minimum. I have emphasised the chemical, biochemical and molecular genetic basis of blood group specificity and given full consideration to molecular biology investigations, in particular to those on the structure of blood group genes and the structural basis of alleles and rare blood group variants. The book covers the latest developments in research and discusses literature up to the beginning of 1995.