What is a blood exchange transfusion?
A blood exchange transfusion is another way of treating jaundice, especially when the bilirubin has risen very high in a short period of time. In an exchange transfusion, small amounts of blood are removed from the babys body using an umbilical IV and replaced with equal amounts of fresh donor blood. This is repeated until twice the babys entire blood volume has been replaced. This removes much of the bilirubin from the babys bloodstream.
