Give Blood - The Gift of Life
During the summer months the Red Cross often heeds the call for more blood donors. Sometimes it is for specific blood types, such as O negative, the universal type. We feel it important to demystify and educate about blood types and what blood you can accept if needed. Remember, every two seconds someone needs blood. We hope
this will encourage people sitting at home, to really think about the fact that we can only get blood from volunteers and we need them to donate today!
All human blood may look alike but when it is tested using special agents, differences become apparent. The main red blood cell groups are A, B, AB, and O. The letters stand for two antigens (chemical substances that can be targeted by one's immune system) labeled A and B.
- Group A blood has only the A antigen
- Group B has the only the B antigen
- Group AB has both
- Group O has neither
You can't donate red blood cells to just anyone and you can't receive blood from just anyone — blood groups need to be matched.
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You can receive:
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If your group is:
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O-
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O+
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B-
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B+
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A-
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A+
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AB-
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AB+
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AB+
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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AB-
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X
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X
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X
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X
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A+
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X
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X
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X
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X
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A-
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X
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X
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B+
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X
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X
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X
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X
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B-
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X
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X
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O+
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X
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X
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O-
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X
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Check the Blood Drive calendar.
Blood groups further classified as Rh-positive or Rh-negative are called blood types. Blood is Rh-positive if the blood antigen labeled "D" is present and it is Rh-
negative if the "D" antigen is absent.
O+ is the most common blood type. O-, the most needed type, is only seven percent of the population. Not all racial and ethnic groups have the same mix of these blood types. Hispanic people, for example, have a relatively high number of O’s, while Asian people have a relatively high number of B’s. The mix of the different blood types in the U.S. population is:
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Average
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Caucasian
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African-American
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Hispanic
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Asian
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O+
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40%
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37
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47
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53
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39
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A+
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32%
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33
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24
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29
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27
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B+
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11%
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9
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18
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9
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25
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O-
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7%
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8
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4
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4
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1
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A-
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5%
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7
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2
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4
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0.5
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AB+
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3%
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3
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4
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2
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7
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B-
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1.5%
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2
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1
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2
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0.4
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AB-
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0.5%
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1
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0.3
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0.2
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0.1
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Some patients require a closer blood match than that provided by the ABO +/- blood typing. For example, sometimes if the donor and recipient are from the same racial or ethnic background, the chance of a reaction can be reduced. That’s why an African-American blood donation may be the best hope for the needs of patients with sickle cell disease, 98 percent of whom are of African-American descent.
Overall, the Red Cross must collect over six million blood donations each year. Many people consider it a right to receive blood when needed, but don’t consider the responsibility of giving blood. If half the people who donate one time a year were to donate a second time, we would never have blood shortages.
Check the Blood Drive calendar.
