universal donor

American  

noun

1. a person with blood of group O.

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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

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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

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Etymology

Origin of universal donor

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

The reason why it is necessary to remove the A and B antigens to create universal donor blood is because they can trigger life-threatening immune reactions when transfused into non-matched recipients.

From Science Daily • Apr. 29, 2024

Hollis notes that his blood is type O negative, commonly called a universal donor, because it can be given to people with any type of blood.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 9, 2022

Type O negative blood is the universal donor.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Another prominent idea is the development of genetically engineered universal donor cells8,9.

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