A person with type A blood can safely donate RBCs to someone of type ____ and can receive RBCs from someone of type ____

A. O; AB: A person with type A blood cannot donate to someone with type O blood because the recipient's anti-A antibodies would attack the donor's cells. Furthermore, a type A individual cannot receive from type AB because the donor's B antigens would react with the recipient's anti-B antibodies. This combination would cause two separate hemolytic reactions.

B. AB; O: Type A individuals can donate to type AB recipients because AB blood lacks both anti-A and anti-B antibodies to attack the donor cells. Conversely, type A individuals can receive from type O donors because O cells lack A and B antigens, making them "invisible" to the recipient's antibodies. This reflects the principles of universal recipient and donor status.

C. A; B: While a type A person can donate to another type A person, they cannot donate to or receive from type B. Type B blood contains anti-A antibodies that would destroy type A cells, and type A blood contains anti-B antibodies that would destroy type B cells. This represents a fundamental ABO incompatibility.

D. B: A: This choice incorrectly suggests that a type A person can donate to type B. The anti-A antibodies in the type B recipient would cause immediate agglutination and hemolysis of the donated cells. Compatibility in the ABO system requires a matching antigen profile or the absence of specific target antigens.

E. 0:0: While a type A person can receive from a type O donor, they cannot donate back to a type O recipient. The type O recipient has both anti-A and anti-B antibodies, which would aggressively target the A antigens on the donor's red blood cells. Type O can only receive red blood cells from other type O individuals.