>Another thing is those of us with O blood type have to wait much longer for kidney transplants because we are universal donors for organs also.
It's two things: we're universal donors, but non-universal receivers. We can give blood to anyone (Rh factor is an extra complication here), but we can only receive O blood, not any other type, so we're really screwed when we need something. Us O- people are even worse.
>If they don't know the patients blood type would they check for the Rh antibodies before using O+ blood?
In a trauma case, they probably don't have time to type your blood at all, so they just give you O+. There's lots of O+ available, but not much O-. Rh- people could have a real problem if they've already had an Rh+ transfusion, but oh well...
It's two things: we're universal donors, but non-universal receivers. We can give blood to anyone (Rh factor is an extra complication here), but we can only receive O blood, not any other type, so we're really screwed when we need something. Us O- people are even worse.
>If they don't know the patients blood type would they check for the Rh antibodies before using O+ blood?
In a trauma case, they probably don't have time to type your blood at all, so they just give you O+. There's lots of O+ available, but not much O-. Rh- people could have a real problem if they've already had an Rh+ transfusion, but oh well...