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Who
can donate blood? |
| Every healthy adult between
the age of 18 and 60 years can donate
blood. |
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How
often can one donate blood? |
| It is safe to donate blood
once every three months. |
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Is
there any danger in donating blood? |
| There
is virtually no danger since:
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Only healthy persons
are encouraged to donate blood. |
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Only sterile
needles are used to collect blood
to prevent transmission of diseases
in the process of donating blood. |
Blood donation takes only
a few minutes. The donor is
made to rest and given refreshment
after the donation.
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When
is blood transfusion required? |
Blood transfusion is mainly required
after heavy blood loss during surgery,
accidents or childbirth. It is also
given to treat bleeding, shock and severe
anaemia.
(a) If you have surgery, you may lose
some blood. In situations where blood
loss is small, patients are given glucose
or saline solution instead of blood.
However, if a large volume of blood
is lost, blood transfusion is required.
(b) If the bleeding is due to low counts
of platelets, as in dengue fever, transfusion
of these special cells is required.
(c) If you have anaemia, indicated by
a low level of haemoglobin, the body
does not produce enough red cells to
carry oxygen. This could lead to tiredness
and breathlessness. Treatment with vitamins
and medicines may be effective in mild
to moderate cases. If the anaemia is
severe, transfusion of blood or red
cells may be required for quick recovery. |
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Can
I donate my own blood before undergoing an
operation? |
Yes, you can. Your donated blood
will be tested, stored and subsequently
used for you.
For certain operations, you may be required
to donate upto 4 units (each of 350
ml) of blood at weekly intervals. This
can be done a few weeks before the planned
operation. However, you will not be
able to donate blood, even for yourself,
if you have anaemia, fever, high blood
pressure or a heart ailment. |
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What
are the advantages of donating my own blood? |
| It is the safest source
of blood. It prevents the risk of possible
reactions to another person's blood,
transmission of diseases and allergies. |
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Can
my blood be stored indefinitely for future
use? |
| No, blood cannot be stored indefinitely.
Usually the collected blood is stored
for only 35 days or 42 days depending
on storage. |
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What
will happen if my blood group is not available
at the blood transfusion service? |
| One of the important functions of
a blood transfusion service is to make
safe blood available to meet the needs
of all patients with different blood
groups. However, there could be a shortage
of a specific blood group. In such situations,
routine operations may have to be postponed
till the particular blood group is available. |
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What
can I do to ensure that my blood group will
be available when needed? |
| It is very important that as many
healthy persons as possible volunteer
to donate blood. This will help in ensuring
a safe and adequate supply of blood
for all patients. You can donate blood
if you are between the age of 18 and
60 years. Encourage your healthy friends
and relatives to donate regularly voluntary.
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Should
I purchase blood? |
| No. It is not safe to buy blood from
commercial blood banks. These blood
banks usually collect blood from professional
blood donors who may be in poor health.
Also, such commercial banks may not
always follow all the standardised procedures
required for safe blood transfusion.
Ask your treating doctor to help you
in arranging for blood from a regional
blood centre or a government approved
blood bank. Always check whether the
blood bank has a valid Blood Bank License
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How
long does it take to transfuse a unit of blood? |
| This depends on the condition for
which transfusion is being given. If
the patient is being transfused to replace
blood for sudden blood loss, one unit
of blood may be given rapidly in about
10-15 minutes. However, if blood transfusion
is being given for anaemia, it may take
over 3-4 hours. |
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Can
I develop a serious reaction to blood transfusion
with blood from another person? |
Not usually. People differ
from each other with respect to their
blood groups. Before blood transfusion
is given, a sample of the blood is tested
and cross-matched with a suitable donor
unit. These tests reduce the risk of
any serious reaction.
Of course, no medical procedure is absolutely
safe. However, the risk of reaction
to blood transfusion is very low. Most
blood transfusion reactions, if they
occur, are mild. So, there is no cause
for worry. Blood Transfusion plays an
important role in modern medical care.
For people undergoing frequent transfusion
they can go in for leukodepleted. |
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Who
cannot donate blood? |
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A person who
is anaemic, i.e. one who has a
haemoglobin level of less than
12/DL. |
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A person who
has suffered from Hepatitis B,
Hepatitis C, AIDS and sexually-transmitted
diseases. |
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A person who
has multiple casual sexual partners. |
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A person who
is addicted to narcotic drugs. |
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What
is Blood and what are its main components? |
Blood Cells Are
Produced In Bone Marrow
Red cells, white cells and platelets
are made in the marrow of bones, especially
the vertebrae, ribs, hips, skull and
sternum. These essential blood cells
fight infection, carry oxygen and help
control bleeding.
Plasma Carries Blood Cells
Plasma is a pale yellow mixture of
water, proteins and salts. One of
the functions of plasma is to act
as a carrier for blood cells, nutrients,
enzymes and hormones.
Red Cells Deliver Oxygen
Red cells are disc-shaped cells containing
haemoglobin, which enables the cells
to pick up and deliver oxygen to all
parts of the body.
White Cells Defend The Body
White cells are the body's primary
defense against infection. They can
move out of the blood stream and reach
tissues being invaded.
Platelets Help Control Bleeding
Platelets are small cells in the blood
that control bleeding. They form clusters
to plug small holes in blood vessels
and assist in the clotting process.
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| COMPONENT |
MAJOR
INDICATIONS |
ACTION |
| Whole Blood |
Symptomatic anaemia with
large volume deficit
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Restoration of oxygen-carrying
capacity, restoration of blood
volume
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| Red Blood Cells |
Symptomatic anaemia with
large volume deficit
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Restoration of oxygen-carrying
capacity,
restoration of blood volume
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| Red Blood Cells |
Symtomatic anaemia |
Restoration of oxygen-carrying
capacity
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Red Blood Cells,
Leukocytes Removed
(white blood cells)
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Symptomatic anaemia ,
febrile reactions from leukocyte
antibodies
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Restoration of oxygen-carrying
capacity |
Red Blood Cells,
Adenine-Saline added
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Symptomatic anaemia
with volume deficit
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Restoration of oxygen-carrying
capacity |
| Fresh Frozen Plasma |
Deficit of labile and stable
plasma coagulation
factors and TTP
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Source of labile and non-labile
plasma factors |
| Liquid Plasma and Plasma |
Deficit of stable coagulation
factors
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Source of labile and non-labile
factors |
| Cryoprecipitated AHF |
Hemophilia
A, von
Willebrand's Disease
Hypofibrinogenemia
Factor XIII deficiency
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Provides Factor VIII, fibrinogen,vWF,and
Factor XIII |
Platelets; Platelets Pheresis
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Bleeding from thrombo- cytopenia
or platelet
function abnormality
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Improves hemostasis |
Granulocytes, Pheresis
(white blood cells)
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Neutropenia with infection |
Provides granulocytes |
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LEUKODEPLETION
Why use leuko depleted blood? |
| Blood transfusions can literally mean
the difference between life and death
for some patients. But transfusions
are not without risks. The most frequent
complications range from
fever to an overall decline in the body's
immune system, which increases risk
for infection. Ironically, the culprit
responsible for these complications
are white cells or leukocytes, the very
agents in blood that attack and destroy
invading organisms like bacteria. Removing
white cells from blood before it is
given to a patient greatly reduces risk
from these complications. |
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What
are the factors that influence the filtration
results? |
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What
are the indications for leukodepleted blood? |
The indications for leukodepleted
blood can be classified as: recommended;
could be used and not recommended
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| a.Recommended
Indications |
- Prevention or delay of Non
Hemolytic Febrile Transfusion
Reaction (NHFTR) in transfusion
dependent patients
- Treatment of patients with
2 or more consecutive Non
Hemolytic Transfusion Reaction
- Newly diagnosed leukemia
patients who are candidates
for bone marrow transplant
- Immunoincompetent CMV negative
patients, when CMV negative
blood is not available
- Intrauterine transfusion
of cellular blood components
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| b.
Possible Indications |
- To prevent or delay clinically
significant bleeding due to
immunologically medicated
refractoriness to platelet
transfusion
- To abolish or reduce the
ill effect of recurrent NHFTR
to platelet transfusion
- Prevention of immune modulation
due to transfusion of cellular
blood components to surgical
patients, leading to increased
rate of post-operative infection
- Prevention of immune modulation
due to transfusion to cancer
patients undergoing surgery,
leading to higher rate of
cancer recurrence
- Prevention of CMV transmission
due to transfusion of cellular
blood components to immuno-incompetent
CMV positive patients
- Prevention of accelerated
rate of progression of HIV
infection by immune modulation,
due to transfusion of cellular
blood components
- Prevention of HLA alloimmunisation
due to transfusion of cellular
blood components to patients
awaiting renal transplantation,
with or without an initial
programme of white blood cell-containing
transfusion.
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| c.
Not recommended Indications |
- Prevention of transfusion
related GVHD. Irradiation
of cellular blood components
remain the standard treatment
- Prevention of acute post
transfusion lung injury
- Prevention of transfusion
related transmission of HIV,
Hepatitis B, or Hepatitis
C
- Filtration of Fresh Frozen
Plasma and other plasma components
or cryoprecipitate
- To reduce HTLV transmission
by cellular blood components
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What
is the advantage of polyurethane filter over
polyester filters? |
SI.
No |
Characteristic |
Polyurethane
(IMUGARD Filter)
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Polyester |
| 1. |
Biocompatibility |
Superior due to
neutral charge |
Inferior as they
are positively and negatively charged |
| 2. |
Leukoreduction technique |
Mostly sieving mechanism |
Adhesion and Indirect
adhesion |
| 3. |
Recovery of treated
products |
High level of recovery |
Less compared to
polyurethane filters |
| 4. |
Age of the product
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Efficiency of filter
independent of the age of the product |
Efficiency dependent
on the age of the product |
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Can
I filter RBC components through an IMUGARD
III-PL? |
Leukocyte filers are designed to be
used with a specific blood component
and must be used for indications listed
on the product label. For example, platelet
filter must be used for filtration
of platelet and RBC filters must be
used for the filtration of RBC (whole
blood).
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How
many units of platelets can be leukoreduced
with 1 number IMUGARD III-PL? |
| 10 units of platelet can be leukoreduced
with 1 IMUGARD III-PL |
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Can
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