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 quest to develop universal donor blood has taken a decisive step forward.

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