Donating blood, while undoubtedly praiseworthy, can also be very confusing. Not all blood types are compatible, so you might find out that it's impossible for you to donate blood to a particular person. If you are wondering who can you donate blood to or what is the universal blood donor type, look no further than this blood donor calculator.

Blood type compatibility

There are four main blood types: A, B, AB, and 0. Each of them is characterized by a different combination of antigens found on the surface of red blood cells. For example, red cells of the A blood group are covered in only A antigens, while cells of the group AB have both A and B antigens on their outer membrane.

Apart from antigens, human blood contains antibodies. Antigen A is always accompanied by antibody B, and antigen B - by antibody A. Combining antigen A with antibody A or antigen B with antibody B results in an agglutination reaction - clumping of blood particles. Because of that reaction, it's incredibly important only to transfer blood from a compatible donor.

Our blood type compatibility calculator takes into consideration an additional classification that divides blood into two groups: Rh+ and Rh-. Rh- blood can be received by both Rh+ and Rh- types, but Rh+ blood can only be transferred to other Rh+ types.

Who can I donate blood to?

All of these rules sound complicated and are hard to remember. Luckily, now you can use our blood donor calculator to check whether you can donate or receive blood. If you want a visual aid, though, make sure to check out the blood compatibility chart below.

recipient↓ / donor→ 0+ 0- A+ A- B+ B- AB+ AB-
0+ yes yes no no no no no no
0- no yes no no no no no no
A+ yes yes yes yes no no no no
A- no yes no yes no no no no
B+ yes yes no no yes yes no no
B- no yes no no no yes no no
AB+ yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
AB- no yes no yes no yes no yes

Universal donor blood type

As you can see in the table above, blood type 0 Rh- can be considered a universal donor - their blood type can be transferred to anyone else. Following the same logic, blood type AB Rh+ is a universal recipient.

Blood plasma compatibility

If you want to transfer blood plasma, you need to follow a different set of rules. In essence, blood plasma compatibility is the inverse of blood compatibility. Additionally, you don't need to consider the Rh+ or Rh- classification.

The blood plasma compatibility chart looks like this:

recipient↓ / donor→ 0 A B AB
0 yes yes yes yes
A no yes no yes
B no no yes yes
AB no no no yes
Bogna Haponiuk

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