Blood Transfusion

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Definition | Body Parts Involved | Reasons for Procedure | Complications | What to Expect | Outcome | Call Doctor If

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Definition

Blood Transfusion is a treatment that involves receiving blood products (red cells, white cells, platelets, clotting factors, plasma, or whole blood) through a vein. The blood components may come from an unrelated donor, from a related donor, or may have been banked in advance by the recipient.

Parts of the Body Involved

Blood, vein

Reasons for Procedure

• Extreme blood and fluid loss due to injury, surgery, or disease
• Severe anemia, including sickle cell anemia
• Bleeding disorders, such as von Willebrand's disease or hemophilia
• Immunodeficiency
• Leukemia
• Autoimmune disease or disorders of the spleen resulting in destruction of blood cells or bone marrow
• Rh-incompatibility in newborn babies

Risk Factors for Complications during the Procedure

• Heart disease
• Conditions or medications resulting in impairment of the immune system:
  • Chemotherapy
  • Cancer
  • AIDS
  • Immune disorders
  • Regular use of steroid medications

What to Expect

Prior to Procedure - You'll have a blood test to determine your specific blood type, so that the donor blood can be carefully matched. You'll also be given a physical exam, and your baseline vital signs will be recorded. These include temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure.

During Procedure - IV setup, with bag of blood product; if possible, the IV needle is placed in your hand or arm

Anesthesia - None

Description of the Procedure - A needle is placed in one of your veins. A bag containing the blood product is hung on a pole nearby, and its contents are dripped slowly, intravenously (through the vein) into your bloodstream.

Throughout the transfusion, your temperature, heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure are checked regularly, and you are questioned about pain, itching, or discomfort of any sort. This monitoring is most careful during the first 15 minutes of the transfusion, since most reactions occur early in a blood transfusion.

Once the bag containing the blood product is empty, the needle in your arm is removed.

After Procedure - Your vital signs, including temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure, will be monitored. Your physician will give you specific instructions based on the condition for which you received the blood transfusion.

How Long Will It Take? 2-4 hours

Will It Hurt? Having the intravenous needle placed is mildly painful; once it is in place, it should not cause pain.

Possible Complications:

Allergic reactions or reactions due to mismatching of blood types. Symptoms include:

• Fever and chills
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing
• Chest and/or back pain
• Nausea and vomiting
• Hives
• Itching
• Swelling
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Muscle spasm
• Blood in the urine

Infection. Although careful testing has greatly decreased the incidence, certain infections can be transmitted in blood transfusions. These include:

• Hepatitis C
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
• Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
• Bacterial infections
• Malaria
• Syphilis

Average Hospital Stay - None

Postoperative Care - Blood tests may be done to determine the efficacy of the transfusion. Based on your medical condition, your doctor will give you specific suggestions regarding what activities you may resume after blood transfusion.

Outcome

Your blood count—a measurement of the specific blood component(s) you received during the transfusion—should improve.

Call Your Doctor If Any of the Following Occurs

• Dizziness
• Signs of infection, including fever and chills
• Shortness of breath, wheezing
• New onset of pain, especially in back or chest
• Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or discharge where the needle was inserted
• New rash, hives, itching
• Nausea, vomiting
• Blood in urine
• Swelling in legs, feet, hands, arms, or face

SOURCES:

Merck Manual of Medical Information, Home Edition. Merck & Co, 2000.

Conn's Current Therapy 2000. W.B. Saunders Co, 1999.

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Last reviewed February 2001 by Medical Review Board