Blood Type Compatibility Chart & Donor Guide
Source: American Red Cross, blood types (US population shares) · Source verified August 22, 2026
An educational guide and reference chart maps blood type compatibility. Users search to find which blood types can donate to or receive from other types.
An educational blood type compatibility chart details donor and recipient matching for red blood cells and plasma transfusions.
Quick Answer
Type O- blood is the universal red blood cell donor, whereas type AB+ is the universal recipient. For plasma, type AB is the universal donor, and type O is the universal recipient.
Quick reference
Type O- blood is the universal red blood cell donor, whereas type AB+ is the universal recipient. For plasma, type AB is the universal donor, and type O is the universal recipient.
An educational guide and reference chart maps blood type compatibility. Users search to find which blood types can donate to or receive from other types.
Select Your Blood Type
Choose a blood group to view compatible donors and recipients:
Red Blood Cell (RBC) Compatibility
Plasma Transfusion Compatibility
Selected Type: O-
Universal Donor
Compatible with 8 recipient types
Red Blood Cell Compatibility Matrix
| Type | Can Receive Red Cells From | Can Donate Red Cells To |
|---|---|---|
| O- | O- | O+, O-, A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB- |
| O+ | O-, O+ | O+, A+, B+, AB+ |
| A- | O-, A- | A+, A-, AB+, AB- |
| A+ | O-, O+, A-, A+ | A+, AB+ |
| B- | O-, B- | B+, B-, AB+, AB- |
| B+ | O-, O+, B-, B+ | B+, AB+ |
| AB- | O-, A-, B-, AB- | AB+, AB- |
| AB+ | O-, O+, A-, A+, B-, B+, AB-, AB+ | AB+ |
Plasma Compatibility Matrix
| Type | Can Receive Plasma From | Can Donate Plasma To |
|---|---|---|
| O- | O-, O+, A-, A+, B-, B+, AB-, AB+ | O+, O-, A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB- |
| O+ | O-, O+, A-, A+, B-, B+, AB-, AB+ | O+, O-, A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB- |
| A- | A-, A+, AB-, AB+ | A+, A-, AB+, AB- |
| A+ | A-, A+, AB-, AB+ | A+, A-, AB+, AB- |
| B- | B-, B+, AB-, AB+ | B+, B-, AB+, AB- |
| B+ | B-, B+, AB-, AB+ | B+, B-, AB+, AB- |
| AB- | AB-, AB+ | AB+, AB- |
| AB+ | AB-, AB+ | AB+, AB- |
Examples
Universal Red Cell Donor
O Negative (O-)
Universal Red Cell Recipient
AB Positive (AB+)
Universal Plasma Donor
AB Positive / AB Negative (AB)
How it works
This reference guide provides an interactive interface and comprehensive lookups to answer questions about blood type chart.
Use the calculators to input values, highlight rows or columns, and solve conversions instantly.
How blood type compatibility works
Blood compatibility is determined by the presence or absence of specific antigens (A, B, and Rh factor) on the surface of red blood cells. Your immune system will produce antibodies against foreign antigens. If you receive blood with antigens that your body does not recognize, your immune system will attack the transfused blood cells, causing a dangerous reaction. Therefore, donors and recipients must be matched carefully.
ABO and Rh factor explained
The ABO blood group system classifies blood into four types: A (has A antigen), B (has B antigen), AB (has both), and O (has neither). The Rh factor refers to the presence (+) or absence (-) of the Rh protein on the cells. Combining these gives the eight common blood types: A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-, O+, and O-.
Universal donor and universal recipient
For red blood cell transfusions, O negative (O-) is the universal donor type because its cells have no A, B, or Rh antigens and will not trigger an immune reaction in any recipient. AB positive (AB+) is the universal recipient because patients with this type have all three antigens and will not react against any donor blood type. For plasma, the rule reverses: AB is the universal donor, and O is the universal recipient.
How common each type is, and why the single number misleads
Every percentage on this page is a UNITED STATES figure and it is the American Red Cross's, not ours. Its published wording, type by type: O negative "Only 7% of the population", O positive "38% of the population" on its O page but "37% of the population" on its main blood types page, B positive "About 9%", B negative "Less than 2%", AB negative "Less than 1% of the U.S. population", and for A positive a ratio rather than a percentage, "1 in 3 people". The AABB table published by Stanford Blood Center gives a fuller set: O+ 37.4, O- 6.6, A+ 35.7, A- 6.3, B+ 8.5, B- 1.5, AB+ 3.4, AB- 0.6 percent, under its own footnote that these are "general estimations for educational purposes only". Two things follow. The Red Cross disagrees with itself by a point on O positive, so no figure here deserves a decimal place. And a US average hides an enormous spread: a 2004 study of 3.1 million American Red Cross donors found type O ranged from 45 percent of white non-Hispanic donors to 56.5 percent of Hispanic donors, and B negative from 0.4 percent among Asian donors to 1.8 percent among white non-Hispanic donors. Outside the US the picture changes again, with type B about 28 percent in China against roughly 10 percent in the US. If you want your own type, a test is the only way to know it.
What this page is not
It is a compatibility reference, not a medical record and not a substitute for typing and crossmatching. Real transfusion practice checks far more than ABO and Rh: there are more than 300 other known antigens, and the American Red Cross defines a genuinely rare blood type as one lacking antigens that 99 percent of people carry. A hospital types and crossmatches every unit before it is given. Nothing here should be used to decide what blood a person can receive.
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