Blood Donation Procedure

Procedure to collect blood from the donor.

Donor assurance:

1. Make the donor comfortable and assure him about safety.
2. Give some time to the donor to acclimatize to the atmosphere.
3. Now apply the blood pressure cuff above the elbow and give a 20 to 40 mmHg pressure.

Cleaning the site:

1. Now clean the site of venipuncture thoroughly.
   1. Can use chlorhexidine, 1% tincture iodine, or 1% PVP iodine.

Procedure for the collection of blood bag:

1. Keep the blood pack below the level of the donor.
   1. Keep the pack in balance.
2. Now increase the blood pressure to 60 to 80 mmHg till the vein is prominent. Ask him to clench their fist.
3. Insert the needle into the vein; as blood comes out, remove the bead, preventing blood from entering the pack.
4. Now reduce the pressure in the cuff.
5. Carefully and slowly mix the blood with the anticoagulants.
6. When blood donation is complete, reduce the pressure to 0 in the cuff.
7. Clamp the blood pack (bag).
8. Take out the needle and apply pressure on the venipuncture site.

Post-blood donation precautions:

1. Please don’t allow the donor to sit immediately; ask him to lie down for at least 5 to 10 minutes.
   1. Sometimes the donor gets headaches, nausea, and dizziness.
   2. Donor blood pressure may become low.
2. Label the pack and make at least 4 to 5 tubing segments for further testing.
3. Allow the blood to cool down before refrigeration is done. This period should not exceed more than one hour.

Before the donated blood is released, the following tests are mandatory:

1. The following tests are done on the donor blood and the serum.
   1. The donor’s blood grouping ABO is verified.
      1. Verify the Rh typing. Rh-negative blood is reconfirmed.
      2. All Rh_°(D) negative blood bags are confirmed.
      3. Now test for anti-CD and anti-DE.
      4. Perform D^u tests on all r’ and r” blood bags.
   2. Reverse blood ABO grouping is done on the donor serum.
      1. Antibody screening is done by the enzyme and antiglobulin method.
   3. Perform the VDRL, HBS, HCV, and HIV.
2. After doing all these tests, you can now release the blood pack for donation to the patient.

Before releasing the Blood bag

Blood components most common in use are:

1. Whole blood.
2. Fresh frozen plasma.
3. Packed red blood cells.
4. Frozen red blood cells.
5. Human serum albumin.
6. Human immune serum globulin.
7. Antihemophilic factor concentrate (cryoprecipitate).
8. Factor IX concentrate.
9. Platelets concentrate or platelets-rich plasma.
10. White blood cell poor blood (where the white cells are removed).

Blood Donation Procedure: Donor blood products

Blood donation criteria for the donor:

1. Donors can donate their blood at intervals of 8 weeks.
2. Healthy individuals can donate blood every 5 to 7 days for a limited period, around 1 to 2 months.
   1. In the above donor, an iron supplement is needed.

Autotransfusion (autologous transfusion):

1. This is the blood collection and subsequent transfusion of the patient’s own blood.
2. Can donate blood every 5 to 7 days before elective surgery.
3. Advantages:  This will prevent all transfusion reaction problems and transfusion-related infections and avoid religious beliefs.

Packed red blood cells:

1. Packed RBCs consist of refrigerated stored RBCs without three-fourths plasma. The majority of plasma is removed.
2. Advantages: This will avoid overloading and pulmonary edema.
3. 1. This is especially useful in patients with anemia where plasma is not needed.
   2. It is used in pure RBC deficiency.
   3. In case antibodies are present in the plasma of the donor.
   4. This also prevents other problems of the stored blood, like raised levels of potassium or ammonium level.

Washed red blood cells:

1. These packed red blood cells were washed several times with saline, followed by centrifugation.
2. This will remove >90% of the white blood cells and also removes platelets and plasma.
3. 10% to 20% of RBCs are also lost in washing.
4. Indications: There are very few indications for washed red blood cells.
   1. The cell washing will remove donor antibodies and is useful in IgA immune reactions.
   2. Washed RBCs are used for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.
   3. Washed RBCs should be used within 24 hours after preparation (washing).

 Fresh Frozen Plasma:

1. Fresh frozen plasma is prepared from the fresh whole blood within 6 hours after collection.
2. Fresh frozen plasma is separated from the RBCs after centrifugation at 4 °C temperature and frozen immediately.
3. Before giving it to the patients, it must be thawed at 37 °C for at least 20 minutes or until the thawing is complete.
4. Don’t delay after thawing to transfuse into the patient because factors V and VIII deteriorate quickly.
5. An agitator machine and a specially designed microwave may accelerate the thawing process.
6. Used for: Fresh frozen plasma is the choice treatment for coagulation factor deficiency such as factor VIII (Hemophilia A), von Willebrand’s disease, or fibrinogen.

Cryoprecipitate:

1. Cryoprecipitate is prepared from fresh frozen plasma; the material does not become totally liquid when fresh frozen plasma is slowly thawed, and the major part has liquefied.
2. Advantage: The major advantage over fresh frozen plasma is the reduced volume of transfused fluid.
   1. Each unit contains around 150 mg of fibrinogen.
   2. Cryoprecipitate is good for treating von Willebrand’s disease and Hemophilia A.
3. Contents: Cryoprecipitate contains 50% of the factor around 50% factor VIII and von Willebrand factor activity.
   1. Fibrinogen and factor XIII are around 20% to 40%.

Albumin:

1. 5% albumin instead of plasma can restore colloid oncotic pressure.
2. In a normal person, 500 ml of blood contains 11 grams of albumin. 70% of the albumin is synthesized in the liver.
3. Indications: To restore the colloid oncotic pressure.
   1. This is used in hypovolemic shock due to massive acute blood loss or extensive burns.
   2. It is not given in hypoalbuminemia due to chronic liver disease or loss through the kidneys or gastrointestinal tract.

Platelets:

1. Platelets are supplied in units that contain platelets equivalent to one point of blood, roughly 5.5 x 10^10_.
2. Can get multiple units from a single donor using platelet apheresis.
3. Platelets are stored at room temperature.
4. A single unit of the platelets will raise the platelet count to 7,000 to 11,000/cmm.
5. Platelets should be transfused as soon as possible after collection to get the maximum functions of the platelets.
6. Indications: Platelet transfusion may be prophylactic or therapeutic.
   1. Therapeutic transfusion occurs with severe thrombocytopenia <50,000/cmm and severe acute bleeding.
   2. When there is no bleeding but thrombocytopenia, we can give platelets transfusion prophylactically.
   3. Bleeding time may be the guide for the platelets transfusion.
   4. It is not indicated in idiopathic thrombocytopenia (ITP) unless the patient is actively bleeding.
   5. No use of platelets transfusion in case of drug-induced thrombocytopenia unless the drug is stopped.

Blood components and their indications: