What is a blood transfusion?

Blood transfusions are fairly common so most people are familiar with them. We also have the experience of the many commercials telling us why it is important to donate blood to make it clear what they are. That being said the actual process of a blood transfusion is more complicated than most people realize so it is a good idea to understand how they work.

A blood transfusion is a medical procedure in which you are given blood through in intravenous needle. The main reason that you would need a transfusion is to replace that is lost as the result of surgery or because of illness. There are some people who are not able to produce blood on their own and require regular transfusions to help with this. In most cases a blood transfusion takes between an hour and four hours depending on how much blood you need. The procedure is very common with more than five million of them being performed each year.

The blood that you receive during a transfusion is normally collected at a blood bank where people have donated it. There was a time when it was common to pay people for the blood that they donated but this is fairly rare these days. The blood that is collected at the blood banks is thoroughly screened for diseases. It is very unlikely that the blood that you receive in a transfusion will carry a disease. Blood comes in different types and it is usually important that you get the right type or your body may reject the transfusion. There are some exceptions to this however for example most people can receive a transfusion that is type O and people with type AB blood can receive any type of blood during a transfusion.

When you receive a blood transfusion it is not always necessary for you to receive a whole blood transfusion. It is common for the components of the blood to be separated out and only the part that is necessary used in the transfusion. This allows them to get the most use out of the blood since each unit donated can then be used for three different transfusions. A red blood cell transfusion for example will only replace the cells that carry oxygen in the blood, while a platelet transfusion replaces the clotting agents. In some cases you may need just the plasma; this is the fluid that carries the other components. This is most common in cases of severe burns or in some cases of liver disease.]

Blood transfusions are generally safe but like all medical procedures there are some risks involved. The most common of these is that you will have an allergic reaction to the transfusion. The most serious side effect of a blood transfusion is that you will experience an acute lung injury although this is pretty rare.