Final answer:
The offspring of a couple with AB and A blood types can have Blood Type A (IAIA or IAi) or Blood Type AB (IAIB). Blood Type B is not possible, while Blood Type O is possible if the mother carries the genotype IAi. The woman can donate blood to the man but not the other way around.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question concerns the possible blood types of children from a couple where one parent has blood type AB and the other has blood type A. The ABO blood group system exhibits codominance, meaning both A and B alleles are equally expressed in individuals with type AB blood. For this couple, the man (AB) has genotypes IAIB, and the woman (A) could have either IAA (homozygous) or IAi (heterozygous) as her genotype, considering her parents' blood types AB and O.
The possible genotypes for their offspring thus could be:
- IAIA or IAi (Blood Type A)
- IAIB (Blood Type AB)
Blood Type B (IBIB or IBi) is not possible as the mother does not carry the B allele. Furthermore, since the woman has a parent with blood type O, she could have the genotype IAi and consequently, there is also a possibility of offspring with blood type O (genotype ii), where an i allele is inherited from each parent.
In terms of donation compatibility, individuals with blood type AB are considered universal recipients and can receive blood from any ABO blood type, which means the woman can donate blood to her husband. However, someone with AB blood can only donate to other AB individuals. Therefore, within this couple, the woman with type A (assuming she doesn't have type O), can donate to the man with AB blood type, but not vice versa.