The demand for AB plasma has increased. Group AB individuals comprise only 3% of Canadian blood donors. Those donors who are group AB are universal donors for plasma, thus are the most in-demand type for plasma transfusion. Type-specific plasma should be issued as soon as possible in emergency situations to preserve the AB plasma inventory for those patients where the blood group is unknown.
Sources:
Canadian Blood Services. Donating Plasma, What You Need to Know About Donating Plasma [Internet]. 2015 [cite 2017 May 5].
Canadian Blood Services. The Facts About Whole Blood [Internet]. 2015 [cited 2017 May 5].
Petraszko T. Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI) [Internet]. 2017 Feb [Cited 2017 May 5].
Yazer M, et al. How we manage AB plasma inventory in the blood center and transfusion service. Transfusion. 2013 Aug;53(8):1627-33. PMID: 23614505.