What is the difference between type 0+ and type O- blood cells? Are both universal donors? Why?
1 Answer
The presence or absence of the D (Rh) antigen makes any group positive or negative. O- is the real universal donor, while O+ is a general donor for all the positive groups.
Explanation:
Apart from the four major blood groups, A, B, AB and O, there is another surface antigen called D or Rh, the presence or absence of which makes a blood group positive or negative - these are known as sub-types or sub-groups.
O- is the universal donor as the absence of all three surface antigens (A, B, and D) makes it the least capable of arousing an immunological reaction in the recipient, whatever the blood group of the recipient might be.
Since the positive groups are much larger in the general population, among the positive groups, O+ is as good as universal donor. However, O+ cannot be given to a person who is Rh negative as the anti-D antibodies in the recipient will react with the transfused O+ blood.
