Transfusion Medicine

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.Transfusion medicine is the branch of medicine that is concerned with the process of collecting (donation), testing, processing, storing, and transfusing blood and its components. It is a cornerstone of emergency and surgical medicine. The blood collection process typically takes place in donor centers. Blood banks are sections of clinical laboratories that process, test, and distribute blood and its components.
AABB estimates that 9.2 million volunteers donate blood each year. About 15.7 million units of whole blood and red blood cells were donated in the United States in 2011. An average of 30 million units of blood components are transfused annually in this country. Blood transfusions, the introduction of blood or blood components from one person into the bloodstream of another, are essential for saving the lives of victims of trauma, for those undergoing major surgery, and for those with other causes of blood loss. Blood transfusions also are used to treat severe anemia resulting from the effects of chemotherapy, cancer, sickle cell disease, and thalassemia, to name a few examples.
Organizations such as AABB and blood donor center systems such as the American Red Cross and America’s Blood Centers give a great deal of attention to both the safety and the maintenance of the nation’s blood supply. In particular, they monitor potential problems with the supply, such as reduced numbers of blood donors and the risk of transmittal of blood-borne infections.
About Transfusion Medicine
Blood and Its Components
Related Content
On this site
Tests: Blood Typing, Direct Antiglobulin Test, RBC Antibody Screen, HLA Testing
Features: Patient Blood Management
Elsewhere on the Web
AABB: Blood FAQ
American Society of Hematology: Blood Banking & Donation
American Red Cross: Learn About Blood
MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Blood typing
MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Hemolytic transfusion reaction
MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: ABO Incompatibility
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: Blood transfusion
AABB: Where to Donate Blood
View Sources
Sources Used in Current Review
AABB Technical Manual, Eds Mark K. Fung, MD, PhD; Brenda J. Grossman, MD, MPH; Christopher Hillyer, MD; Connie M. Westhoff, PhD, MT(ASCP)SBB, AABB, 18th edition, 2014.
Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services, 29th edition, AABB 2014.
AABB. Blood FAQ. Available online at http://www.aabb.org/tm/Pages/bloodfaq.aspx. Accessed September 2015.
(August 16, 2016) AABB Association Bulletin #16-06. Blood Center and Public Health Actions to Reduce the Risk of Zika Virus Transfusion Transmission.
(August 26, 2016) FDA News Release. FDA advises testing for Zika virus in all donated blood and blood components in the US. Available online at http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm518218.htm. Accessed December 2016.
(February 16, 2016) FDA News Release. FDA issues recommendations to reduce the risk for Zika virus blood transmission in the United States. Available online at http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm486359.htm. Accessed December 2016.
Sources Used in Previous Reviews
Kay R. Gregory, MS MT(ASCP)SBB.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 13 Dec 2006. FDA approves first test to screen blood donors for Chagas’ disease (FDA News press release). Rockville, Md. Available online at http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01524.html. Accessed Feb 2007.
AABB. Blood Donation Frequently Asked Questions (Online information, accessed February 2007). Available online at http://www.aabb.org/Content/Donate_Blood/Blood_Donation_FAQs/donatefaqs.htm.
American Cancer Society. Possible Risks of Blood Product Transfusions, Transfusion related acute lung injury. (Online information, accessed February 2007). Available online through http://www.cancer.org.
American Cancer Society. Alternatives to Blood Transfusion, Volume Expanders (Online information, accessed March 2007). Available online through http://www.cancer.org.
AABB Technical Manual. 15th ed. Brecher M, ed. Bethesda, AABB: 2005.
Henry’s Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods. 21st ed. McPherson R, Pincus M, eds. Philadelphia, Saunders, Elsevier: 2007.
AABB Technical Manual. 16th edition. John D. Roback, MD, PhD, Bethesda, AABB: 2008.
National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey. Available online at http://www.aabb.org/programs/biovigilance/nbcus/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed May 2010.