A Patient's Guide to Blood Transfusions
Ask your physician about new developments in transfusion medicine.
Check with your insurance company for their reimbursement policy.
Donor Blood (Using Someone Else's Blood)
Donor blood and blood products can never be absolutely 100% safe, even though testing makes the risk very small.
Please note: Your options may be limited by time and health factors, so it is important to begin carrying out your decision as soon as possible.
Option |
Explanation |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
Note |
| Volunteer blood from the community blood supply | Blood and blood products donated by volunteer donors to a community blood bank. | Readily available. Can be life-saving when your own blood is not available. |
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You may wish to check whether donors are paid or volunteer, since blood from commercial (paid) donors may not, in some cases, be as safe as blood from volunteers. |
| Designated donor blood From donors you select | Blood and blood donors you select must meet the same requirements as volunteer donors. | You can select people with your own blood type who you feel are safe donors. |
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Care should be taken in selecting donors. Donors should never be pressured into donating. Donations from certain family members may require irradiation of blood. |
Autoglogous Blood (Using Your Own Blood)
The methods of using your own blood can be used independently or together to eliminate or minimize the need for donor blood, as well as virtually eliminate transfusion risks of infection and allergic reaction.
Option |
Explanation |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
| Pre-operative donation (donating your own blood before surgery) | The blood bank draws your blood and stores it until you need it, during or after surgery. For elective surgery only. | Eliminates or minimizes the need for someone else’s blood during and after surgery. |
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| Intra-operative autologous transfusion (recycling your blood during surgery) | Instead of being discarded, blood lost during surgery is being filtered, and put back into your body during surgery. For elective and emergency surgery. | Eliminates or minimizes the need for someone else’s blood during surgery. Large amounts of blood can be recycled. |
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| Post-operative autologous transfusion (recycling your blood after surgery) | Blood lost after surgery is collected, filtered and returned. For elective and emergency surgery. | Eliminates or minimizes the need for someone else’s blood during surgery. |
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| Hemodilution (donating your own blood during surgery) | Immediately before surgery, some of your blood is taken and replaced with IV fluids. After surgery, your blood is filtered and returned to you. For elective surgery. | Eliminates or minimizes the need for someone else’s blood during and after surgery. Dilutes your blood so you lose less concentrated blood during surgery. |
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| Apherisis (donating your own platelets and plasma) | Before surgery, your platelets and plasma, which help stop bleeding, are withdrawn, filtered and returned to you when you need it. For elective surgery. | May eliminate the need for donor platelets and plasma, especially in high blood-loss procedures. |
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