Blood Transfusion

Blood Transfusion

Introduction

Blood transfusion is the administration of blood or any of its components (cells red, platelets, granulocytes, plasma proteins) from one or more healthy called "donors" to one or more sick patients called "recipients". Blood transfusions can be lifesaving in some situations, such as massive blood loss due to trauma, or can be used to replace blood lost during surgery. Blood transfusions can also be used to treat severe anemia or thrombocytopenia caused by a blood disease. People suffering from hemophilia or disease sickle-cell may require frequent blood transfusions. Early transfusions used whole blood, but modern medical practice is to use only those components of the blood that are required. Blood transfusion is a discipline on the edge of hematology and immunology, it involves medicine, biology, bio-industry and sociology also is based on ethics.

The fact that the blood from a single donor can be used for several patients is now a real indication that the blood is a mixture of several small cells. The blood is broken down into its components, which are then, used separately.In a broad sense, the blood contains the following steps:

Blood donation

Transformation of blood

Conservation

Feedback

It is a gift of a healthy man to an ill man, so blood product should not be considered usually as a drug, it would be a scientific error. 

The ethics of Transfusion of blood has three unique aspects: The donation is voluntary, voluntary and anonymousNo profit is possibleBlood and its derivatives should be free for the patient

Discussion

The main problems of blood transfusion are immunological and infectious risks. The risk of blood transmission of non-conventional agents is only theoretical. No case is known as yet. To reduce these risks we make a first selection of donors according to certain criteria. Therefore, the ethical question that arises is whether we are driving to take in information from people who are likely to donate blood or that of patients whose condition warrants the prescription of blood products. We cannot exclude the gift of blood of the volunteers of arbitrary notions, knowing that the shortage of blood, which occurs regularly, at certain times of the year, is responsible for deaths avoidable. According to law any healthy person, aged 18 to 65 can donate blood.Of course, there are standards based on the weight of the person and gender but cannot take more than 500 ml at one time. In addition, restrictions are in place the number of annual donations allowed as well as the length of time between donations. It seems clear that donor selection appears as the first step in blood safety.

Therefore, before each donation, the heads of transfusion centers and posts must rigorously exclude from blood donation those who may be at risk of transmission of infectious agents. The customer is therefore, monitored Clinical interview medical, general examination and measurement of blood pressure. This is a crucial step eliminate some cons to donation of blood (from 1st October 1997 are excluded from blood donation all transfusion recipients, and persons at risk of developing a TSE). Biological controls are the second step required to ensure the safety of the recipient. The mandatory tests are tests of blood, hematocrit and ...