Blood Groups

There are basically four groups of blood: A, B, AB, O.

• Blood type A: A person of this blood type can only receive blood from another person with blood type A or O. This blood type can only be donated to a person with blood type A.
• Blood type B: A person of this blood type can only receive blood from another person with blood type A or O. This blood type can only be donated to a person with blood type A.
• Blood type O: This blood type can be donated to type A, B, AB and O. Therefore it is known as the universal donator. A person with this blood type can only receive blood from a person with the same blood type.
• Blood type AB: This blood type can only be donated to type AB. A person with this blood type can receive blood from type A, B, AB and O. Therefore it is known as the universal receiver.

It is important that the right type of blood is given to a patient. Giving the wrong type of blood may cause the patient's blood to clump together which may form blood clots which may sometimes be fatal. A doctor must always be certain of the blood type when people are receiving or donating blood.