Organ Donation Compatibility Calculator

Check ABO blood group compatibility for donation and transfusion.

About Organ Donation Compatibility Calculator

ABO compatibility is necessary but far from sufficient for transplantation, which also requires HLA tissue typing and crossmatching. Rhesus matters greatly for transfusion but much less for solid organ transplantation. Group O recipients can only receive group O organs despite being universal donors, which is why they typically wait longest on transplant lists.

Formula

Organ Donation Compatibility

ABO compatibility follows the antigen and antibody rules: O donates to all, AB receives from all

universal donor: Group O, lacking A and B antigens
crossmatch: Direct test for recipient antibodies against donor cells, required beyond ABO

Worked example

With the default values below, Organ Donation Compatibility Calculator returns ABO Compatible of Yes. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Donor blood groupone of O, A, B, AB: O
Donor rhesusone of Positive, Negative: Positive
Recipient blood groupone of O, A, B, AB: A
Recipient rhesusone of Positive, Negative: Positive

Results

ABO Compatible: Yes
Rhesus Consideration: No rhesus incompatibility in this direction
Donor Type: O positive
Recipient Type: A positive
Notes: Group O is ABO compatible with all recipients but faces longer waits as a recipient

Step by step

1Values used
2Organ Donation Compatibility
3ABO Compatible= Yes
4Rhesus Consideration= No rhesus incompatibility in this direction
5Donor Type= O positive
6Recipient Type= A positive
7Notes= Group O is ABO compatible with all recipients but faces longer waits as a recipient

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
This reproduces a published formula for educational and reference use only. It is not a diagnostic tool, does not account for individual clinical context, and must not be used to make or change treatment decisions. Clinical assessment by a qualified healthcare professional is always required. This shows ABO rules only and does not determine transplant or transfusion suitability, which requires tissue typing, crossmatching and specialist assessment. Never rely on this for any clinical decision.
This is an estimate for general information and not professional medical advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

This reproduces a published formula for educational and reference use only. It is not a diagnostic tool, does not account for individual clinical context, and must not be used to make or change treatment decisions. Clinical assessment by a qualified healthcare professional is always required. This shows ABO rules only and does not determine transplant or transfusion suitability, which requires tissue typing, crossmatching and specialist assessment. Never rely on this for any clinical decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Organ Donation Compatibility calculated?

ABO compatibility follows the antigen and antibody rules: O donates to all, AB receives from all ABO compatibility is necessary but far from sufficient for transplantation, which also requires HLA tissue typing and crossmatching. Rhesus matters greatly for transfusion but much less for solid organ transplantation.

Why does Organ Donation Compatibility matter?

Group O recipients can only receive group O organs despite being universal donors, which is why they typically wait longest on transplant lists.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 4 inputs: Donor blood group, Donor rhesus, Recipient blood group, Recipient rhesus. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.