How is the risk of using blood from a volunteer allogeneic donor decreased?
The safety of volunteer donor blood results from actions taken at several levels. By the Donor • Self exclusion from the donor process for confidential reasons. At the Blood Center (collection facility) • Thorough donor interviews. • Careful testing of blood for transfusion transmissible disease. At the Hospital • Monitoring and careful blood storage. • Precise compatibility testing. By You • Through Knowing Your Options. • Understanding the transfusion process and benefits, risks and alternatives prior to consenting to a transfusion. These alternatives include the use of drugs to assist your bone marrow to replace blood, use of autologous (pre and perioperative) donation and removing contaminating white blood cells associated with adverse consequences from blood by a process called leukocyte reduction by filtration.
