universal donor

American  

noun

1. a person with blood of group O.

---

universal donor British  

noun

1. a person who has blood of group O and whose blood may be safely transfused to persons with most other blood types

---

universal donor Scientific  

/ yo̅o̅′nə-vûr′səl /

1. A person who has group O blood and is therefore able to serve as a donor to a person with any other blood type. Group O blood contains red blood cells that do not have the antigen A or B and thus do not react with antibodies to these antigens found in the plasma of the other blood types.

2. See also blood type

---

Etymology

Origin of universal donor

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

The concept of using enzymes to generate universal donor blood was introduced more than 40 years ago.

From Science Daily • Apr. 29, 2024

A universal donor cell engineered to lack surface antigen proteins that can be recognized by the immune system would prevent this issue.

From Nature • May 25, 2020

Fry cited a slew of upgrades – to the computer system, training processes, manuals, donor education items and a universal donor history questionnaire – that “unfortunately just does take some time” to incorporate.

From The Guardian • Apr. 18, 2020

One problem with this designation of universal donor is if the O− individual had prior exposure to Rh antigen, Rh antibodies may be present in the donated blood.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Testing revealed that she was a "universal donor" who could be a match with any number of people.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 12, 2010