I've a friend who has type O blood, and she recently has received many shots containing various antibodies, dead viral protein capsids etc etc..

 

So hypothetically speaking in the case of say a random epidemic, will I be able to take some of her blood and inject it into mine and thus giving me all of the immunities that she has?

if she has O rhesus -, then youll be able to accept her blood. if she has O rhesus +, then yoll be able to accept her blood unless you are rhesus -ve, in which case your body will raise antibodies against the rhesus antigen of her red blood cells, which will clump her blood cells together within your arteries

 

as to gaining her immunities, any of her B-cells or helper-T-cells that you get will probably be killed by your body as they will likely posess a different majour histocompatability complex, so you will not gain her ability to create antibodies against the disease.

 

you will, however, pick up a few free-floating antibodies from her blood syrum. not many, but if the disease is present in low levels in your body i suppose the antibodies could cause a few of the bacteria/viruses to be et by macrophages, which could bring the disease to the attention of your adaptive immune system a little quicker than it would otherwize, but all-in-all its not really worth it. youd be much more likely to aquire any diseases that she has than any immunities.

 

as to gaining her immunities' date=' any of her B-cells or helper-T-cells that you get will probably be killed by your body as they will likely posess a different majour histocompatability complex, so you will not gain her ability to create antibodies against the disease.

 

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What about siblings and twins?

hmm... id guess that if you innoculate someone with antigen specific memory-B-cells or memory-helper-T-cells that have the same MHC, then they (the cells) would survive and function correctly, although im not sure. also, i think they might have to go strait into a lymph node rather than into a blood vessel.

you would only gain passive immunity which would fade in a while. active immunity comes when your body fights against real pathogens and produces memory B and T cells which activate when the pathogen triggers the immune system again.

 

basically, no it would not work.

you would only gain passive immunity which would fade in a while. active immunity comes when your body fights against real pathogens and produces memory B and T cells which activate when the pathogen triggers the immune system again.

 

basically' date=' no it would not work.[/quote']

 

Exactly, you would also risk getting serum sickness. Also, your friend's blood is type O, which means they would have anti-A and anti-B antibodies in their blood..if that was injected into you, wouldn't those antibodies attack your own RBCs and cause serious inflammation reactions?

umm Type O meant that they lack Anti-B and Anti-A...

umm Type O meant that they lack Anti-B and Anti-A...

My understanding is that people with type O RBCs lack A and B antigens and have anti-A and anti-B antibodies.

 

Anyway, assuming your blood types were compatible, you would probably get protection for a few days, up to a week, and then those foreign antibodies etc will get destroyed, leaving no memory cells.

Oops I misread and typed it wrong, Type O Blood did lack Antigens, not Anti-Antigens