blood type

The improvement follows a slight reduction in hospital demand for all blood types.

It is used in emergencies or when a patient's blood type is unknown.

Successfully converting A or B blood types into ABO universal donor blood can markedly reduce the logistics and costs currently associated with storing four different blood types.

Currently, patients in any of those situations receive platelets harvested from blood donors, ideally from donors with a compatible blood type.

Megan Parker, Loyola’s living donor transplant coordinator, said finding a suitable donor is largely “recipient driven,” checking that blood types and antibodies are compatible.