Blood Transfusion

A blood transfusion is the administration of whole blood or a component to counteract blood loss caused by trauma, surgery, or disease. In some cases, whole blood is not needed or is unavailable, so an individual component—plasma, red or white cells, platelets—is used. In whole-blood transfusions, the donor’s blood must be compatible with that of the recipient. Autologous transfusions are those that use the recipient’s own blood, banked in advance. When was the first human blood transfusion? More… Discuss

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US BLOOD BANKS CHANGING HOW THEY DO BUSINESS

In recent years, as economic woes have led people to hold off on elective surgeries and new surgical technologies and techniques have cut down on blood loss in the operating room, the need for blood products in the US has declined. Blood shortages, while not entirely a thing of the past, are becoming fewer and farther between. As such, blood banks are shifting away from their long-standing “collect-as-much-as-you-can” approach in favor of one that is more targeted to specific needs. They are holding fewer drives than in the past and are instead placing greater emphasis on appealing to donors with high-demand blood types. More…Discuss