Autologous Blood Donation Health Article

Definition

Autologous blood donation is the process of donating one's own blood prior to an elective surgical or medical procedure to avoid or reduce the need for an allogeneic blood transfusion (from a volunteer blood donor).

Purpose

Blood transfusions are given to restore lost blood, to improve clotting time, and to improve the ability of the blood to deliver oxygen to the body's tissues. There are some disadvantages to traditional allogeneic blood transfusions. Although strict regulations are in place to ensure correct matching by blood type, errors in this process can lead to the transfusion of mismatched blood, which can cause a serious and sometimes fatal adverse reaction called transfusion reaction. In addition, while donated blood is rigorously tested for infectious agents such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis, there is always a chance that an infectious disease may be transmitted via allogeneic transfusion.

The donation and transfusion of autologous blood has arisen as an alternative to allogeneic blood transfusion. Autologous donation is indicated for an elective surgical or medical procedure in which the likelihood of a blood transfusion is high. Such procedures include surgery on the heart, blood vessels, bones, and chest.

Some of the advantages of autologous blood donation include:

• The patient is assured that the blood is an exact match to his or her blood type, thereby avoiding transfusion reaction.
• There is no risk of inadvertently transmitting infectious agents.
• Autologous blood donations supplement the community blood supply.
• The process of donating blood promotes blood cell production by bone marrow.
• The patient is often reassured by the knowledge that his or her own blood will be used if a blood transfusion becomes necessary.

Some disadvantages to autologous blood donation do exist, which include:

• Contamination of autologous blood with infectious agents is possible during the donation process.
• There is a possibility that a patient's blood will be mislabeled or that allogeneic blood will be inadvertently transfused.
• Autologous blood donation costs more to process and store.
• Blood may be transfused unnecessarily because an autologous blood supply exists.
• Unused units of autologous blood are usually disposed of; approximately 44% of autologous donations remain unused after surgery.

Demographics

Autologous blood donations account for approximately 5% of all blood donated in the United States each year.