Although the blood supply today is very safe, autologous blood is the safest and most compatible blood for you.

Your physician may recommend autologous blood donation if there is a possibility that you may need a blood transfusion during or after your surgical procedure. Autologous (pronounced aw-TOL-o-gous) blood donation is when you donate and store your own blood prior to your surgery. During surgery, should you require a transfusion, the blood that you donated will be given back to you.

Autologous blood is a blood donation you make for yourself prior to having surgery. You can usually donate up to four units of your own blood for use during surgery. Directed blood is blood that you donate specifically for someone else to use. Directed blood is usually given by one family member to another. If it is going to a blood relative, the blood must be irradiated first to reduce the risk of graft versus host disease (GVHD).

Ans. Every time you donate a unit of blood at a blood bank, which is a member of the association of Voluntary Blood Banks, you will receive a certificate and a Blood Donation Card. This card can be used by you to get blood from the registered blood bank when you have a need. Also, every time you donate blood, screening tests are done on the blood for jaundice, hepatitis, AIDS etc. Hence, you are able to get screened for these communicable diseases free of charge.

Identifying information is never exchanged between a cord blood donor and cord blood transplant recipient. The identity of the cord blood donor is kept confidential at the cord blood bank.

Blood you donate here at Hoag begins being processed for use by our patients as soon as you donate. You'll get the satisfaction of knowing you have directly helped another person and a free mini-medical examination including a blood pressure check. An identification card showing your blood group and Rh type will be mailed to you and you will become a member of our Gallon Club when you have given 8 blood donations.

Autologous donors are usually older persons on multiple medications and with medical conditions such as cancer that would make their blood unsuitable for general use. The few donations that could be salvaged are insufficient to justify the administrative complexities and cost incurred by screening these patients in the same manner as volunteer donors. For these reasons autologous donors undergo an abbreviated medical history designed only to assess their ability to tolerate the loss of blood.

You should donate blood because it's an easy, relatively painless thing to do. The safety of the nation's blood supply is dependent on volunteer blood donors. 60% of the nation's population will require a blood transfusion at some time in their lives. Despite this fact, only 2% of the eligible donors in Southern California participate in blood donation. You'll feel good about doing something for someone else. It's an opportunity to share your good health with others.

Patients scheduled for surgery may be eligible to donate blood for themselves in the weeks before non-emergency surgery in a process known as autologous donation. If an autologous donation is not used, it is discarded. Family members and friends can also make directed donations. Directed donations are fully tested, so if they are not used by the intended patient, they can be released for use by other patients.

The American Red Cross has created a strong operations network that helps us direct your blood donation to the areas of the country — or the world — where they are most needed. While you can't direct your donation to be specifically routed to military personnel, you can be sure that it will be sent to the areas of most critical need.

If the products will be stored in the laboratory, a local product code (first letter A-D instead of E) should be used. For example, A0001 could be be "Intra-operative Washed Red Blood Cells." Other labeling should follow national requirements.

In this procedure, the doctor takes a sample of the patient's normally pigmented skin and places it in a laboratory dish containing a special cell culture solution to grow melanocytes. When the melanocytes in the culture solution have multiplied, the doctor transplants them to the patient's depigmented skin patches. A fairly new technology, this procedure is still in the experimental stages.

Many factors are considered when selecting an autologous or an allogeneic stem cell transplant. In general, an autologous stem cell transplant is safer and simpler than an allogeneic stem cell transplant. Autologous transplants rely completely on the efficacy of the chemotherapy and radiation ("preparative regimen") to kill the cancer cells. Since the donor and the recipient are the same (auto = you), no immunological differences exist.

The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is committed to building a strong network and inventory of high-quality cord blood units available to any patient who needs a transplant. We work with expectant parents and public cord blood banks to increase the number and diversity of cord blood units available for patients. We are also committed to improving transplant results for patients. That is why we are conducting a research study on cord blood transplantation and patient outcomes.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus spread by air droplets (from coughing & sneezing), sexually, and by blood contact. In healthy persons it may cause minor flu-like symptoms, cough, sore throat and enlarged glands (resembling infectious mono), or no symptoms at all. It occurs at all ages, and by adulthood, blood tests show that about 50 percent of healthy adults have had the virus (and are now immune to it).

Your body replenishes the fluid lost from donation within 24 hours. It may take up to two months to replace to lost Red Blood Cells.

Ans. Anything, but preferably something. Eating light snacks and a drink (nonalcoholic) before blood donation makes you psychologically more comfortable. Drink some liquid like tea, cold drink, juice, etc. to replenish fluid and eat some snacks. All this will be available for you at the blood bank.

Ans. Giving blood is a very simple and straight forward process. On arrival at a blood bank, you will be asked to fill a few details on a donor form. Your medical history will be taken by a medical personnel in an area which provides adequate privacy. Blood Banks routinely take a small drop of blood to ensure that you aren't anemic. After you pass this simple medical screening process, you will be escorted to a blood donation area.

IOBS may be considered an extension of circulatory system, especially if it is configured as a closed circuit. A nonblood priming solution would be a requirement. The use of IOBS is considered part of an ongoing surgical procedure, even if it may not be configured as a closed circuit system, as long as it is primed with a nonblood solution.

Donating bone marrow is a surgical procedure done under general or regional anesthesia in a hospital. While a donor receives anesthesia, doctors use needles to withdraw liquid marrow from the back of the pelvic bone. PBSC donation is a non-surgical procedure done in an outpatient clinic. PBSC donors receive daily injections of a drug called filgrastim for five days, to increase the number of blood-forming cells in the bloodstream.