Why donating blood is importantĭonated blood can be turned into different medical treatments, depending on which blood type you have. This could be life threatening so you would need treatment quickly. If you did get the wrong blood type, you could have a serious reaction. Receiving the wrong blood type in a transfusion is extremely rare. You will also have careful identification checks before the transfusion to make sure you receive the right blood type. All blood is rigorously checked for infections such as HIV and hepatitis.

If you need a transfusion, you will receive blood that has been collected by Australian Red Cross Lifeblood from voluntary donors. People may need a blood transfusion if they lose a lot of blood their blood is low in certain components such as red cells, platelets or plasma because they have a medical condition such as cancer, anaemia or a bleeding disorder or because they are having surgery. Type B is more common in South Asian and black communities. Type A platelets (a component of blood that is important for clotting) can be safely given to any patient. O- can be safely given to any patient, regardless of their blood type. The table below lists each of the blood types, including how common they are across the Australian population. The most common blood type in Australia is O positive and the least common is AB negative. More than 4 out of 5 Australians are Rh positive. If there is no RhD antigen, the blood is Rhesus negative. If there is an antigen called the RhD antigen, the blood is Rhesus positive. The Rhesus system looks at different antigens on the surface of the red blood cells. These names indicate whether the blood’s red cells carry the A antigen, the B antigen, both A and B antigens, or neither antigen.Įach of the 4 blood groups can be classified as either Rhesus positive or Rhesus negative. There are 4 different blood types – A, B, AB and O. If you need a blood transfusion and you do not know your blood type, or your blood type is not available, then there are other blood types that can be safely given to anyone. It is also possible for a mother and her baby to have incompatible blood types, and this will need treatment while the mother is pregnant. If someone receives blood with the wrong sort of chemicals, the body’s immune system could attack it. This is because it is very dangerous if you are given the wrong blood type. Different blood types do not mix.Ī blood test is done to find out the blood type before a blood transfusion, major surgery or having a baby. Someone’s blood type is decided by the genes they inherit from their parents. The chemicals on the outside of the blood cells are called antigens. Related information on Australian websitesĪ person’s blood type, also known as their blood group, is the chemical structure on the outside of their red blood cells.

O negative blood type facts wiki