Brother's Keeper

Blood Type Compatibility

Each person has one of 4 blood types: A, B, AB, or O

Recipient – individual who will receive the organ transplant

Donor – individual who donates an organ

The diagram below shows what blood types are compatible with each other. For example: a recipient with Blood Type A can receive a kidney from a donor who has either Blood Type A OR Blood Type O

Tissue Typing and Crossmatch (using blood sample)

Immunology lab will conduct several lab tests with both donor and recipient blood samples

Tissue Typing – also known as HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) typing, where they look at protein markers (antigens) on the surfaces of cells, receipt and donor samples will be compared to see if the pattern of antigens is a close match

Crossmatch – qualitative test where donor and recipient blood samples are mixed together, incubated and then processed to visually see if there is agglutination (clumping) to detect the presence of antibodies (immunoglobulins or proteins produced by our immune system)

• No Agglutination – negative crossmatch: less likelihood of body rejecting the organ after transplant
• Agglutination – positive crossmatch: increased risk of rejection with transplant

If these blood tests indicate that the recipient and potential donor are not compatible (i.e., not a direct match), there is an option of partnering with kidney transplant programs across the country through National Paired Exchange Program to potentially match transplant candidates with other living donors