For example, you may need a blood transfusion if you have: a condition that affects the way your red blood cells work — such as sickle cell disease or thalassaemia a type of cancer or cancer treatment that can affect blood cells — including leukaemia, chemotherapy or stem cell transplants severe bleeding — usually from surgery, childbirth or a serious accident A blood transfusion can replace blood you have lost, or just replace the liquid or cells found in blood such as red blood cells, plasma or cells called platelets.
Ask your doctor or nurse why they think you might need a transfusion if you're not sure. What happens Before having a blood transfusion, the procedure will be explained to you and you'll be asked to sign a consent form. You'll only be given blood that's safe for someone with your blood group.
During a blood transfusion: You sit or lie down in a chair or bed. A needle is inserted into a vein in your arm or hand. The needle is connected to a tube and a bag of blood. The blood runs through the tube into your vein. It can take up to 4 hours to receive 1 bag of blood, but it's usually quicker than this. You can normally go home soon after, unless you're seriously unwell or need a lot of blood.
How you might feel during and after You might feel a sharp prick when the needle is first inserted into your vein, but you should not feel anything during the transfusion. Your arm or hand may ache and have a bruise for a few days after. Risks Blood transfusions are common and very safe procedures.
A hemolytic reaction happens when your body attacks the donated RBCs. Donated blood goes through a very careful matching process, so this reaction is very rare.
If it does happen, it can cause chills, fever, kidney damage, and other serious symptoms. Symptoms can happen during the blood transfusion or in the next several hours. A delayed hemolytic reaction can also happen. This can happen even if you got the right blood type. This may take days or weeks to happen.
It may not cause any symptoms, but it can cause your RBC count to be lower. Too much blood in the body transfusion overload. Transfusion overload may happen if a person gets more blood than needed. It can cause shortness of breath and other symptoms.
The symptoms usually happen within a few hours to a day. Taking diuretic medicine after a blood transfusion may prevent this problem. Too much iron in the body iron overload. This can happen in people who need to have many blood transfusions over time for an ongoing medical condition. Viruses being transmitted. The viruses can include HIV or hepatitis. Blood goes through a very careful screening before blood transfusions.
The risk of a virus being passed on is very low. Graft-versus-host disease. This is a condition where the new, donated blood cells attack cells in the body. Symptoms such as fever and rash may start within a month of the blood transfusion. Talk to your healthcare provider about which risks may apply to you. Your healthcare provider will let you know if you need to prepare in any way.
Make sure to tell him or her if you have ever had a bad reaction to a blood transfusion. You may be given a medicine to help prevent an allergic reaction.
Most hospitals need a consent form before a blood transfusion. This needs to be signed by you or by a chosen family member. Your blood may be tested before the blood transfusion to find out what type it is. This is to make sure that you get the right kind of donor blood. Your finger may be pricked to get a few drops of blood. Or you may have blood taken from a vein in your arm. During the procedure, you will be given blood from one or more people who donated it.
A nurse will monitor you throughout the procedure and take measures of your blood pressure, temperature and heart rate. Tell the nurse immediately if you develop:. The needle and IV line will be removed. You might develop a bruise around the needle site, but this should go away in a few days. Contact your health care provider if you develop shortness of breath or chest or back pain in the days immediately following a blood transfusion.
You might need further blood testing to see how your body is responding to the donor blood and to check your blood counts. Explore Mayo Clinic studies of tests and procedures to help prevent, detect, treat or manage conditions. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version.
Overview A blood transfusion is a routine medical procedure in which donated blood is provided to you through a narrow tube placed within a vein in your arm. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references What is a blood transfusion? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
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