Let’s take a moment and talk about what it means to be an O negative blood donor. As an O negative donor you have a particularly unique opportunity to help people in emergency situations. O negative blood is more in demand and more often in short supply. O negative blood types are also pretty rare – according to the American Red Cross only 7% of the world’s population carries this blood type. Not only are they rare, O negative blood types are also the universal red cell blood donor! This means they can be transfused to almost any patient in need regardless of their blood type.
There are many ways O negative blood types can help out in the community. In the event of an emergency, when there’s no time for identifying a patient’s blood type before transfusion, O negative blood is often used by the hospitals to help stabilize them. These donors are helping trauma patients and accident victims; they are giving them a fighting chance at life due to an O negative blood transfusion. Because O negative is the universal red cell donor and red cells are the most often transfused part of the blood and carry oxygen throughout our bodies, O negative blood donations are vital.
In addition, O negative red cells are the safest for newborn infants with underdeveloped immune systems. Accordingly, they are the most often transfused to newborns. It is also common for a sickle cell patient to receive O negative blood, because it is often harder to find a match for them. These are just a few of the many different reasons why O negative blood is in demand and often in short supply.
It’s important to remember that while O negative donors are very valuable, every type of blood type can help out the community tremendously. Sometimes it can be very difficult to find some time to help out with a blood donation, since life can get a little hectic. You may want to help out in any way possible but aren’t able to due to lack of time and or transportation. Time is a precious thing in life and practically regulates every part of it. So if you have an hour of your valuable time to spare and happen to be an O negative blood type, go ahead save some lives!
What blood type are you?