Replies

NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!! What causes an incompatible transfusion reaction is the donor red blood cell (RBC) antigens reacting with the recipient's antibodies. A person with Type O blood, whether it be Positive or Negative, will have BOTH anti-A and Anti-B in their plasma. If they are transfused with any type of blood other than O, an immediate transfusion reaction would result. They have no AB antigens on their RBC so they are able to donate to any other blood type (Universal Donor).

AB is the Universal Recipient precisely because they have neither anti-A or anti-B in their plasma because both antigens are present on their RBC.

For a compatible transfusion, we start with Group (A, B, AB, or O) and Type (Positive or Negative), but we also must perform an antibody screen to make sure the recipient does not have any other antibodies to any of the more common additional RBC antigens. If that screen is positive, we must do an antibody panel to identify the antibodies and make sure any units that we give the patient are negative for that antigen. Once we find those units, we must do a cross-match by incubating the donor cells with the patient's serum in the lab to see if there is any adverse reaction. If not, the unit can be tagged to be received by that patient.

Susan R. Morton, MT(ASCP), CLS(NCA), MA