Other rare subgroups of A exist. These comprise less than 1% of the total pool of A genes. Of these rare types, A3 is the most common, but Ax, Aend, and Ael have also been identified. In subgroup A3, the red blood cells characteristically give a “mixed field” agglutination pattern when tested with anti-A and anti-A,B. Small clumps of agglutinated cells are present among large numbers of cells which absorb the antibody to their surface but are not agglutinated by it.
