1. Who can donate blood?

Every healthy adult between the age of 18 and 60 years can donate blood.

2. How often can one donate blood?

It is safe to donate blood once every three months.

3. Is there any danger in donating blood?

There is virtually no danger since:

⁎ Only healthy persons are encouraged to donate blood.
⁎ 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.

4. 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.

⁎ 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.
⁎ If the bleeding is due to low counts of platelets, as in dengue fever, transfusion of these special cells is required.
⁎ 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.

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. Who cannot donate blood?

⁎ A person who is anaemic, i.e. one who has a haemoglobin level of less than 12/DL.
⁎ A person who has suffered from Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, AIDS and sexually-transmitted diseases.
⁎ A person who has multiple casual sexual partners.
⁎ A person who is addicted to narcotic drugs.

14. 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.

COMPONENT	MAJOR INDICATIONS	ACTION
Whole Blood	Symptomatic anaemia with arge volume deficit	Restoration of oxygen- carrying capacity, restoration of blood volume
Red Blood Cells	Symptomatic anaemia with large volume deficit	Restoration of oxygen-carrying capacity, restoration of blood volume
Red Blood Cells	Symptomatic anemia	Restoration of oxygen-carrying capacity
Red Blood Cells, Leukocytes Removed (white blood cells)	Symptomatic anemia , febrile reactions from leukocyte antibodies	Restoration of oxygen-carrying capacity
Red Blood Cells, Adenine-Saline added	Symptomatic anemia with volume deficit	Restoration of oxygen-carrying capacity
Fresh Frozen Plasma	Deficit of labile and stable plasma coagulation factors and TTP	Source of labile and non-labile plasma factors
Liquid Plasma and Plasma	Deficit of stable coagulation factors	Source of labile and non-labile factors
Cryoprecipitated AHF	Hemophilia A, von Willebrand's Disease Hypofibrinogenemia Factor XIII deficiency	Provides Factor VIII, fibrinogen,vWF,and Factor XIII
Platelets; Platelets Pheresis	Bleeding from thrombo- cytopenia or platelet function abnormality	Improves hemostasis
Granulocytes, Pheresis (white blood cells)	Neutropenia with infection	Provides granulocytes

LEUKODEPLETION

15. 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.

16. What are the factors that influence the filtration results?

The various factors that influence the filtration results are:

⁎ Blood Rheology
⁎ WBC Number and function.
⁎ Plasma Protein content.
⁎ Platelets number and function.
⁎ Holding time before processing.
⁎ Presence of abnormal haemoglobins.
⁎ Additive solutions.
⁎ Processing method of whole blood
⁎ Type of equipment used for the processing.
⁎ Storage conditions.
⁎ Age of the products.

17. What are the indications for leukodepleted blood?

The indications for leukodepleted blood can be classified as: recommended; could be used and not recommended.

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.

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.

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.

18. What is the advantage of polyurethane filter over polyester filters?

Characteristic	Polyurethane (IMUGARD Filter)	Polyester
Biocompatibility	Superior due to neutral charge	Inferior as they are positively and negatively charged.
Leukoreduction technique	Mostly sieving mechanism.	Adhesion and Indirect adhesion.
Recovery of treated products	High level of recovery	Less compared to polyurethane filters
Age of the product	Efficiency of filter independent of the age of the product	Efficiency dependent on the age of the product

19. 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).

20. 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

21. Can an IMUGARD III-RC filter be used for more that 1 unit of the RBC concentrate?

Yes, but the efficiency of the second filtration will be considerably reduced. Hence it is recommended to use 1 filter for only 1 unit of RBC concentrate.

22. Is bedside filtration better than laboratory filtration?

No. As the storage period of components increases cytokines are released by the leukocytes, which are responsible for the transfusion reactions. Thus lab type filtration helps in greater reduction of leukocytes and prevention of transfusion reaction.

Basic about Blood