Packed red blood cells do not have an antibody, since the greatest risk of Rh incompatible blood is to current or future pregnancies. For RBCs, type O negative blood is considered a "universal donor" as recipients with types A, B, or AB can almost always receive O negative blood safely. Type AB positive is considered a "universal recipient" because they can receive the other ABO/Rh types safely. These are not truly universal, as other red cell antigens can further complicate transfusions. There are many other human blood group systems and most of them are only rarely associated with transfusion problems. A screening test is
Human blood group systems three types of cells: The most common type of grouping is the ABO blood group system. The varieties of glycoprotein and glycolipid coating on red blood cells divides blood into four groups: Another antigen, the Rh factor, plays an important part in the grouping of blood. If this is present, the particular blood type is called Rh-positive. If it is absent, it is called Rh-negative. In addition to the ABO and Rh blood group systems, there are more than two hundred minor blood groups that can complicate blood transfusions. These are known as rare blood types. Whereas common blood types