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Blood types

Blood types

There are eight major blood types

About this blood type

Group O- blood can be given to almost anyone, making it an extremely valuable resource for emergencies where blood is needed immediately. This universal quality means additional stocks of O- are needed to provide standby cover.

Patients this blood type can help

O- A- B- AB- O+ A+ B+ AB+

O- stats in Scotland

Bar Chart A horizontal bar chart showing percentages for Population, Donors, DonationsPopulation0.0%Donors0.0%Donations0.0%

O- current stock level

About this blood type

Although group A blood is the second largest blood group in Scotland, type A- blood is relatively rare. If you’re an A- donor who gives blood at Aberdeen, Edinburgh, or Glasgow Donor Centre, you may be able to give platelets.

Patients this blood type can help

A- AB- A+ AB+

A- stats in Scotland

Bar Chart A horizontal bar chart showing percentages for Population, Donors, DonationsPopulation0.0%Donors0.0%Donations0.0%

A- current stock level

About this blood type

11% of the Scottish population have group B blood. However, only 2% have type B-, making it the second rarest blood type in Scotland.

Patients this blood type can help

B- AB- B+ AB+

B- stats in Scotland

Bar Chart A horizontal bar chart showing percentages for Population, Donors, DonationsPopulation0.0%Donors0.0%Donations0.0%

B- current stock level

About this blood type

Type AB- is the rarest blood type in Scotland. In fact, If you have AB- blood, you’re one of less than 27,000 people. If you’re an AB- donor who gives blood at one of our city donor centres (in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow or Inverness), you may be able to give plasma.

Patients this blood type can help

AB- AB+

AB- stats in Scotland

Bar Chart A horizontal bar chart showing percentages for Population, Donors, DonationsPopulation0.0%Donors0.0%Donations0.0%

AB- current stock level

About this blood type

More than two million people in Scotland have type O+ blood, making it the most common blood type in Scotland. This means that although there will always be more potential O+ donors, there will also be more O+ patients. If you’re an O+ who gives blood at Aberdeen, Edinburgh, or Glasgow Donor Centre, you may be able to give platelets.

Patients this blood type can help

O+ A+ B+ AB+

O+ stats in Scotland

Bar Chart A horizontal bar chart showing percentages for Population, Donors, DonationsPopulation0.0%Donors0.0%Donations0.0%

O+ current stock level

About this blood type

More than a quarter of Scotland’s population have type A+ blood. This makes it the second most common blood group in Scotland. If you’re an A+who gives blood at Aberdeen, Edinburgh, or Glasgow Donor Centre, you may be able to give platelets.

Patients this blood type can help

A+ AB+

A+ stats in Scotland

Bar Chart A horizontal bar chart showing percentages for Population, Donors, DonationsPopulation0.0%Donors0.0%Donations0.0%

A+ current stock level

About this blood type

11% of the Scottish population have group B blood. The majority of these have people have type B+ blood – nearly half a million people.

Patients this blood type can help

B+ AB+

B+ stats in Scotland

Bar Chart A horizontal bar chart showing percentages for Population, Donors, DonationsPopulation0.0%Donors0.0%Donations0.0%

B+ current stock level

About this blood type

Around 3% of Scotland’s population have our rarest blood group, AB. Most of this group have type AB+, but it is still the third rarest blood type in the country. If you’re an AB+ donor who gives blood at one of our city donor centres (in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow or Inverness), you may be able to give plasma.

Patients this blood type can help

AB+

AB+ stats in Scotland

Bar Chart A horizontal bar chart showing percentages for Population, Donors, DonationsPopulation0.0%Donors0.0%Donations0.0%

AB+ current stock level

Scotland’s blood groups

  • By population
  • By donors
  • By donations
Donut Chart: O- A donut chart showing 9 percent for O- O- 0.0%
Donut Chart: A- A donut chart showing 6 percent for A- A- 0.0%
Donut Chart: B- A donut chart showing 2 percent for B- B- 0.0%
Donut Chart: AB- A donut chart showing 0 percent for AB- AB- 0.0%
Donut Chart: O+ A donut chart showing 40 percent for O+ O+ 0.0%
Donut Chart: A+ A donut chart showing 28 percent for A+ A+ 0.0%
Donut Chart: B+ A donut chart showing 9 percent for B+ B+ 0.0%
Donut Chart: AB+ A donut chart showing 2 percent for AB+ AB+ 0.0%
Donut Chart: O- A donut chart showing 13 percent for O- O- 0.0%
Donut Chart: A- A donut chart showing 6 percent for A- A- 0.0%
Donut Chart: B- A donut chart showing 2 percent for B- B- 0.0%
Donut Chart: AB- A donut chart showing 0 percent for AB- AB- 0.0%
Donut Chart: O+ A donut chart showing 39 percent for O+ O+ 0.0%
Donut Chart: A+ A donut chart showing 26 percent for A+ A+ 0.0%
Donut Chart: B+ A donut chart showing 8 percent for B+ B+ 0.0%
Donut Chart: AB+ A donut chart showing 2 percent for AB+ AB+ 0.0%
Donut Chart: O- A donut chart showing 14 percent for O- O- 0.0%
Donut Chart: A- A donut chart showing 6 percent for A- A- 0.0%
Donut Chart: B- A donut chart showing 2 percent for B- B- 0.0%
Donut Chart: AB- A donut chart showing 0 percent for AB- AB- 0.0%
Donut Chart: O+ A donut chart showing 40 percent for O+ O+ 0.0%
Donut Chart: A+ A donut chart showing 26 percent for A+ A+ 0.0%
Donut Chart: B+ A donut chart showing 8 percent for B+ B+ 0.0%
Donut Chart: AB+ A donut chart showing 2 percent for AB+ AB+ 0.0%

Patients your blood type can help

Blood compatibility table. Columns represent donor blood types. Rows represent patient blood types. A red dot indicates compatibility.
O- O+ B- B+ A- A+ AB- AB+
AB+ Donor O Negative supports patient AB Positive Donor O Positive supports patient AB Positive Donor B Negative supports patient AB Positive Donor B Positive supports patient AB Positive Donor A Negative supports patient AB Positive Donor A Positive supports patient AB Positive Donor AB Negative supports patient AB Positive Donor AB Positive supports patient AB Positive
AB- Donor O Negative supports patient AB Negative Donor O Positive does not support patient AB Negative Donor B Negative supports patient AB Negative Donor B Positive does not support patient AB Negative Donor A Negative supports patient AB Negative Donor A Positive does not support patient AB Negative Donor AB Negative supports patient AB Negative Donor AB Positive does not support patient AB Negative
A+ Donor O Negative supports patient A Positive Donor O Positive supports patient A Positive Donor B Negative does not support patient A Positive Donor B Positive does not support patient A Positive Donor A Negative supports patient A Positive Donor A Positive supports patient A Positive Donor AB Negative does not support patient A Positive Donor AB Positive does not support patient A Positive
A- Donor O Negative supports patient A Negative Donor O Positive does not support patient A Negative Donor B Negative does not support patient A Negative Donor B Positive does not support patient A Negative Donor A Negative supports patient A Negative Donor A Positive does not support patient A Negative Donor AB Negative does not support patient A Negative Donor AB Positive does not support patient A Negative
B+ Donor O Negative supports patient B Positive Donor O Positive supports patient B Positive Donor B Negative supports patient B Positive Donor B Positive supports patient B Positive Donor A Negative does not support patient B Positive Donor A Positive does not support patient B Positive Donor AB Negative does not support patient B Positive Donor AB Positive does not support patient B Positive
B- Donor O Negative supports patient B Negative Donor O Positive does not support patient B Negative Donor B Negative supports patient B Negative Donor B Positive does not support patient B Negative Donor A Negative does not support patient B Negative Donor A Positive does not support patient B Negative Donor AB Negative does not support patient B Negative Donor AB Positive does not support patient B Negative
O+ Donor O Negative supports patient O Positive Donor O Positive supports patient O Positive Donor B Negative does not support patient O Positive Donor B Positive does not support patient O Positive Donor A Negative does not support patient O Positive Donor A Positive does not support patient O Positive Donor AB Negative does not support patient O Positive Donor AB Positive does not support patient O Positive
Donor O Negative supports patient O Negative Donor O Positive does not support patient O Negative Donor B Negative does not support patient O Negative Donor B Positive does not support patient O Negative Donor A Negative does not support patient O Negative Donor A Positive does not support patient O Negative Donor AB Negative does not support patient O Negative Donor AB Positive does not support patient O Negative

Current blood stock levels across Scotland

Tuesday 30 June

We aim to retain 6 days of stocks at any time in order to meet the requirements of patients in Scotland.

Learn more about blood types