Quick answer
Red cells carry antigens; plasma carries antibodies. For a plasma transfusion, the donor's antibodies must not attack the recipient's red cells. That flips the familiar chart: AB plasma (no anti-A or anti-B antibodies) can go to any ABO group, while O recipients (no A or B antigens) can accept plasma from any ABO group. Rh factor is generally not a concern for plasma. These are ABO-only rules; actual transfusion still requires blood-bank testing and clinical selection.
ABO plasma compatibility chart
| ABO group | Antibodies in plasma | Can give plasma to | Can receive plasma from |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | anti-B | A, O | A, AB |
| B | anti-A | B, O | B, AB |
| AB | none | A, B, AB, O | AB |
| O | anti-A, anti-B | O | A, B, AB, O |
Check a plasma donor and recipient
Open the compatibility calculator, select Plasma, and choose the donor and recipient ABO groups. The result explains why the pair matches or does not match.
What does matched plasma mean?
Matched plasma is selected to be compatible with the recipient's blood group. Identical ABO groups are compatible, and some different groups are also compatible: for example, an O recipient can receive A plasma under ABO rules, but an A recipient generally cannot receive O plasma. Donor-to-recipient direction matters.
The chart above describes ABO compatibility. A blood bank must still select the appropriate product for the patient; the chart cannot determine whether a particular plasma unit is suitable.
Why plasma rules are reversed
When you receive red cells, the danger is that your antibodies attack the donor's cells. When you receive plasma, the danger is that the donor's antibodies attack your cells. The same underlying biology, viewed from the opposite side, produces a mirror-image chart.
Type O plasma contains both anti-A and anti-B, so under ABO rules it is compatible only with type O recipients. Type AB plasma contains neither, so it is ABO-compatible with every ABO group. Type A plasma (anti-B) suits A and O recipients; type B plasma (anti-A) suits B and O recipients. These describe ABO compatibility only, not a guarantee that a given unit is suitable.
What about Rh factor?
Standard plasma matching uses the donor's and recipient's ABO groups. Plasma components of either RhD type can generally be used regardless of the recipient's RhD type, so this site's plasma chart does not use the positive or negative sign. The transfusion service still selects an appropriate product for the patient.
Plasma products and platelets
The chart above is a simplified plasma comparison, not a platelet or whole-blood matching guide. Platelet products have separate selection rules that account for platelet antigens, antibodies in the accompanying plasma, and the patient's circumstances. Platelets do not express Rh antigens, but residual red cells in a platelet component can create an RhD exposure risk.
Whole blood contains both red cells and plasma and also needs product-specific clinical assessment. A result from this plasma chart cannot establish whether platelets or a whole-blood unit are suitable.
Compare with the red cell compatibility chart.