Prepare a patient information leaflet about blood transfusion, intended for adult patients scheduled for elective surgery attending a pre-admission clinic approximately 1 month prior to the date of admission.
1. Indications for blood transfusion
- Not always necessary – only if required
- Blood loss – if the amount lost is greater than the body can tolerate
2. Reducing need for transfusion
- Pre-op optimisation of haemoglobin– iron, folate or B12 replacement
- Check your medication -
- Cell salvage intra op
3. How blood is given
- Intravenous either during the operation or on the day afterwards (may take up to 4 hours per unit)
4. Symptoms during transfusion
- Most asymptomatic
- Regular observations
- Temperature, chill or rash – paracetamol and slow transfusion
- Severe reactions extremely rare
5. Side effects
- Wrong blood - 2m units transfused each year, only a handful of cases
- Infections HepB (1in 500 000), HIV (1in 5m), Hep C (1 in 30m), bacterial contamination
- vCJD – probably very low
- Fluid overload
- TRALI
6. Concerns / contacts
- Doctor on ward
- Hospital transfusion practitioner
- NBS, national patient safety agency
7. Possibly paragraph for Jehovah's witnesses