What is Autologous Blood Donation?
Autologous blood means you donate your own blood for later use. If your doctor says you may need a blood transfusion, this may be one option. What are the Benefits? Your own blood is the safest blood you can get. When you receive your own blood: • There is no risk of an allergic reaction to your own blood. • Rare blood types can be very hard to match. • There is no risk of getting diseases carried by blood like hepatitis and AIDS. What Influences Whether or Not You Can Donate Your Own Blood? • Your Physical Health Your doctor will talk with you about whether you qualify to give your own blood. You may not have to meet all of the usual requirements as other blood donors. Yet, some health conditions can disqualify you from giving your own blood. These include: anemia, some infections, severe heart disease, stroke and some seizure disorders. • Your Operation Your doctor may suggest that you donate your own blood ahead of time if it is likely that you will need blood during or after surger
Autologous blood donation means donating your own blood for use, if needed, during or after your surgery. Requirements for Donating Your Blood Your surgeon will determine whether you are likely to require a blood transfusion for your surgery. Your surgeon’s staff will help you schedule your first donation appointment. All autologous blood donors must sign consent forms at the DeGowin Blood Center at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. However, arrangements can be made to donate your blood at a blood center nearer to your home. You must bring a list of all of the medications that you take to each blood donation appointment. It is very important that you do not have cold, flu, of infection symptoms for at least 3 days prior to each blood donation. If you are taking an antibiotic, you must wait 3 days from the last dose taken to donate blood. Your hematocrit (red blood cell count) must be at least 33% to donate your blood at each donation appointment. The Blood Center nurse will
Your physician may recommend autologous blood donation if there is a possibility that you may need a blood transfusion during or after your surgical procedure. Autologous (pronounced aw-TOL-o-gous) blood donation is when you donate and store your own blood prior to your surgery. During surgery, should you require a transfusion, the blood that you donated will be given back to you.
Another type of blood donation is autologous donation. This refers to transfusions in which the blood donor and the transfusion recipient are the same. People may elect to do this before a surgical procedure in which the likelihood of needing a transfusion is high. Although there are still risks with this process, autologous donation minimizes many of them because it is the person’s own blood that is being returned to his or her body. A person can donate their blood up until 72 hours prior to their surgery, which allows time for the body to replenish its blood supply. Iron supplements or erythropoietin also may be prescribed to help increase the person’s red blood cell count. Any blood that remains unused during the surgery is discarded unless, in the case of an emergency, the blood may be transfused into another patient if it has been fully tested and is compatible with the recipient. According to the National Blood Data Resource Center and the AABB, autologous blood accounted for 3%
