This means that they can give blood to anyone who needs it. “Blood will be needed by thousands of people this Easter weekend, including trauma and emergency patients, mums delivering babies, and people undergoing cancer treatment. O Negatives are extraordinary They are considered the Universal Blood Type. The table below lists each of the blood types, including how common. If you don’t know your blood type, donating is an excellent way to find out – with every blood type needed every day to help save lives. The most common blood type in Australia is O positive and the least common is AB negative. “It’s often stocked in ambulances and rescue helicopters to be used for trauma patients who can require huge quantities in a short amount of time.” “This rare blood type is in high demand because it can be given in emergency situations where a patient’s blood group is unknown,” Ms Stone said. Type O-negative blood can be transfused to ALL blood types. O negative makes up 15% of hospital orders across Australia, but fewer than 7% of the population have that blood type. How Blood Types Are Determined 7 of the population, or 1 in 11 people, has type O-negative blood. “We urgently need 4,500 people of all blood types to book a donation before Easter Monday, and a further 7,500 through to ANZAC Day, and we need them to come back for a second donation when they are next eligible, to ensure we can keep hospital fridges well stocked,” she said. O negative can receive blood only from their own types. O Positive cannot receive blood from A and B group types. Does not have any antigens bodies present. This time of year is when many of our donors take a well-deserved break, but the next two weeks are shaping up to be particularly difficult with back-to-back long weekends for Easter and ANZAC Day. O Positive can donate blood to only the ones who are similar to them. “The need for blood is often unplanned and urgent. Lifeblood’s own reserves of the emergency blood type – needed by accident and trauma patients – have dropped to their lowest point in 12 months.Ĭath Stone, Lifeblood’s Executive Director of Donor Services, said that for the first time, nearly 40 donor centres will open across Australia on Good Friday to give all blood types a much-needed boost.

O negative blood