Blood Group Table and Donation Chart: Who Can Donate to Whom
Blood group compatibility decides who can safely receive whose blood. Get it wrong and the recipient’s immune system attacks the transfused cells, which can be fatal. Get it right and one donation can support up to three patients. This page gives you the full chart, explains the logic behind it, and shows what the numbers look like specifically in Pakistan.
Two systems do almost all the work. The ABO system sorts blood into A, B, AB and O depending on which antigens sit on the surface of the red cells. The Rh system adds a positive or negative depending on whether the D antigen is present. Combine them and you get the eight groups everyone knows: O−, O+, A−, A+, B−, B+, AB−, AB+.
Blood group compatibility chart
Read across the row for the recipient’s group. The middle column is who can donate to them; the right column is who they can donate to.
| Blood group | Can receive red cells from | Can donate red cells to |
|---|---|---|
| O− | O− | Everyone (all 8 groups) |
| 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+ | Everyone (all 8 groups) | AB+ only |
Why O negative is the universal donor
O− red cells carry neither A, B, nor D antigens, so no recipient’s immune system recognises them as foreign. That is why trauma bays keep O− on the shelf: it can go into a bleeding patient before anyone has had time to determine their group. The flip side is that O− donors can only receive O− themselves, and only about one person in ten in Pakistan is Rh negative at all — which is why O− is chronically short everywhere.
Why AB positive is the universal recipient
AB+ blood already carries A, B and D antigens, so the recipient has no antibodies against any of them and can accept red cells from any group. AB+ donors, however, can only give red cells to other AB+ recipients — roughly 9% of people. If you are AB, donating plasma is often the higher-impact choice, because AB plasma is the universal plasma.
Plasma runs the other way
Plasma compatibility is the mirror image of red cell compatibility. AB plasma suits everyone; O plasma can only go to O recipients. If a hospital asks for plasma rather than whole blood, do not reuse the red cell chart above.
Blood groups in Pakistan, by the numbers
A systematic review pooling 161,893 people across all six regions of Pakistan found a distribution noticeably different from Western populations — B is the most common group here, not O.
| Group | Share of population | What that means for donors |
|---|---|---|
| B | 33.4% | The most common group — easiest to match, but also the most requested |
| O | 33.1% | Highest demand overall, because O cells are used when there is no time to type |
| A | 24.0% | Steady demand, usually matched within a day |
| AB | 9.7% | Rarest ABO group; AB plasma is valuable to everyone |
| Rh positive | 90.6% | The default assumption in most Pakistani blood banks |
| Rh negative | 9.4% | Fewer than 1 in 10 people — negative groups are where searches fail |
The practical takeaway: if you or a family member is Rh negative, register as a donor before you ever need blood, and keep a short list of matched contacts. Negative-group requests are the ones that go unanswered longest.
How much blood does Pakistan actually need?
The WHO estimates Pakistan needs more than 5 million units of blood a year and currently collects around 2.3 million — a shortfall of over half. Roughly 18% of those donations come from voluntary unpaid donors; the rest come from family and replacement donors found under pressure, usually by a relative making phone calls from a hospital corridor. That gap is exactly the problem a donor-matching network exists to close.
What to do when you need blood urgently
- Get the exact requirement in writing from the treating doctor — blood group, component (whole blood, packed red cells, platelets, plasma), and number of units.
- Ask the hospital blood bank what they already have. Many requests are solved on site before any search is needed.
- Search by compatible groups, not just the exact group. Use the chart above — an O+ patient can also take O−, which doubles the pool.
- Post the request where matched donors will actually see it — a GPS-matched app alerts only nearby donors of the right group, instead of broadcasting to everyone.
- Confirm cross-matching at the blood bank. Compatibility on paper is never a substitute for a laboratory cross-match.
Related guides
- Blood donation eligibility: who can donate, and how often
- Thalassemia in Pakistan
- Blood donors in Karachi
- Blood donors in Lahore
- More from the GeoBlood blog
Frequently asked questions
Which blood group is the universal donor?
O negative. O− red cells carry no A, B or D antigens, so they can be transfused into a patient of any blood group. This is why emergency departments keep O− units ready for patients whose blood group is not yet known.
Which blood group is the universal recipient?
AB positive. An AB+ patient can receive red cells from all eight blood groups because their immune system has no antibodies against A, B or D antigens. AB+ donors, however, can only give red cells to other AB+ patients.
Can O positive donate to O negative?
No. An O negative patient can only receive O negative red cells. O positive blood carries the D antigen, which an Rh negative recipient can react against — particularly serious for women of childbearing age.
What is the most common blood group in Pakistan?
B is the most common ABO group in Pakistan at roughly 33.4% of the population, closely followed by O at 33.1%, then A at 24.0% and AB at 9.7%. About 90.6% of Pakistanis are Rh positive and 9.4% are Rh negative.
Can I donate blood to a family member with a different blood group?
Only if the groups are compatible according to the chart above, and only after the blood bank performs a cross-match. Family relationship does not make incompatible blood safe. In some cases doctors specifically avoid close-relative donations for patients who may need a future transplant.
How do I find a compatible blood donor near me quickly?
Use a donor network that matches on blood group and location at the same time. The free GeoBlood app shows verified donors of the compatible groups within your area and lets you message them in the app, so you are not calling through a list of numbers while a patient waits.
Medical disclaimer. This page is general information, not medical advice. Blood grouping and cross-matching must always be confirmed by a licensed laboratory before any transfusion. In a medical emergency, contact the treating hospital or your local emergency services first — GeoBlood is a coordination platform, not an emergency service.