Reliability of Postmortem ABO Blood Grouping: A Study of 100 Cases
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Abstract
Blood grouping has been one of the cornerstones for identification of biological materials in forensic investigations. Antigens of the ABO system can be detected even prior to birth. ABO blood groups can also be detected after death for a long period in many body tissues (teeth, bones, etc.). Blood has its own forensic value in many medico-legal issues. The present study looked at a total number of 100 autopsy cases brought for medico-legal investigations in the mortuary of the Department of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the Department of Pathology at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak (Haryana, India). The blood samples were collected from right ventricle without any anticoagulant. ABO blood grouping was performed by direct haemagglutination technique using monoclonal antisera. Reverse blood grouping was also attempted. Our results showed that ABO blood group antigens can be detected from blood fluid after death, even in decomposed bodies with an estimated post-mortem interval (EPMI) of <85 hours. Our results also show that as post-mortem interval increases beyond a certain limit there is a decrease in antigens on RBCs in the post-mortem blood.
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