Choose Your Own Adventure: Abo-solutely Puzzling

Proposed Session Description: Even 126 years after the discovery of the ABO blood group system and the dawn of pre transfusion testing, ABO typing can still confound us. Despite sophisticated serologic methods and powerful molecular tools, perplexing ABO discrepancies still remain, as evidenced by abstracts and dedicated sessions at recent AABB Annual Meetings.

This session builds on what you know but takes learning to the next level. In a case-based, choose your own adventure format, attendees will determine which test to perform next, interpret evolving results, and shape the transfusion plan in real time. We’ll follow the pathways you select—exploring diverse testing options, integrating serologic and molecular approaches, and highlighting testing capabilities and limitations along the way. Each decision point underscores how laboratory findings shape clinical judgment—and how clinical context guides laboratory investigation.

For both blood bankers and the clinical team, getting the ABO right is foundational. In this session, we’ll tackle that core task together—turning challenging cases into an interactive adventure in problem solving and learning, with fun as an unexpected finding.