All Blood, Blood Types and Transfusions in DayZ

The World of DayZ is a perilous one, and one of the many problems that it includes is blood transfusions. The zombie survival game came from the roots of the Military simulation shooter ARMA 2, and the DayZ creator’s desire to become a standalone title ran the course of hitting digital shelves in 2013. The game has since become a fully-fledged title that is still maintained even to this day. One might argue that the game’s player base thrives on the real dilemmas that its world and zombies pit the player against, with one such issue being the matter of blood.

What Are Blood Transfusions in Dayz?

Blood Transfusions exist for the sake of resuscitating players that have become unconscious as a result of blood loss. The blood needs to be given from a blood bag IV, and the treatment is only effective should the blood type of the donor prove compatible with the blood type of the recipient.

Upon being afflicted with certain status or injuries, the player character will suffer a case of blood loss. Characters start with an amount of 5000 blood, and should the amount of blood drop below the 2500 threshold, the character will start going into shock, damaging them continuously until they fall unconscious, where they will remain in such states until they die or until they are provided a form of recovery.

This is where blood transfusions become a matter of importance. Willing players with a blood bag kit can empty some of their blood into the bag, and combine it with an IV start kit to make a blood bag IV that can be used to rescue other players that have fallen into such problematic states.

The Importance of Blood Types and the Different Types That Exists

Blood cannot be given freely from one player to another, as their blood types have to be compatible. When a player character first spawns into the game world, they are randomly assigned a blood type and a player can be made aware of their blood type via using a blood testing kit, where the blood type of the character will then remain displayed on a player’s HUD. Giving incompatible blood to ailing players only serves to worsen their condition, putting them into Hemolytic Reaction where they will once again fall unconscious and start severely losing blood.

As such, it is important to know what blood can be given to whom, and here is a table illustrating compatibility and what to look out for:

It first needs to be stated the minus blood types can transfer blood to both minus/plus blood types, while plus blood types are only suitable for being given to other plus blood types. So pay attention to the symbol beside the blood type.

With the above conditions in mind, the general rule is that O blood types tend to serve as a good source for blood donations, while AB blood types are compatible with any blood types they receive.

Keep a chart of a similar nature handy whenever you or your cooperators require a blood transfusion, though, in the instance where blood type can’t be tested beforehand, players will need to decide if they are willing at chancing a blood transfusion that could lead to more unconsciousness and blood loss.

DayZ is available now on PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PS5, and PC.