This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Grant, F. C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Grant, F. C.
Related Collections
Right arrow Hematologic pathology (including blood transfusion)
CMAJ • September 4, 2001; 165 (5)
© 2001 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors

Letters
Correspondance

Weighing the risks and benefits of autologous blood donation

F. Curry Grant

Associate scientist Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences University of Toronto Toronto, Ont.

We agree with Alastair Weir that the storage time of self-donated blood should be discussed with patients considering donating their blood. Self-donated blood has a shorter shelf life than volunteer-donated blood (35 v. 42 days) because of differences in processing methods. We have added the shelf life of self-donated blood to our revised decision aid.1 The short storage time may contribute indirectly to the increased risk of having a transfusion of either type of blood in patients who have donated their own blood, because there may not be adequate time in some patients for regeneration of red blood cells before surgery. With each unit of blood transfused, whether self-donated or volunteer-donated, there is a small risk of human error resulting in a transfusion reaction and a very small risk of bacterial contamination of the blood. Patients who are considering donating their own blood before surgery should weigh the reduced risk of viral transmission against the increased risk of human error and bacterial contamination owing to the greater average number of units transfused.2 The revised decision aid is available on the Ottawa Health Research Institute Web site (www.ohri.ca/programs/clinical_epidemiology/OHDEC/decision_aids.asp).

Reference

  1. Grant FC, Laupacis A, O'Connor AM, Rubens F, Robblee J. Evaluation of a decision aid for patients considering autologous blood donation before open-heart surgery. CMAJ 2001;164(8): 1139-44.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  2. Forgie MA, Wells PS, Laupacis A, Fergusson D. Preoperative autologous donation decreases allogeneic transfusion but increases exposure to all red blood cell transfusion. Arch Intern Med 1998; 158:610-6.[Abstract/Free Full Text]




This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Grant, F. C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Grant, F. C.
Related Collections
Right arrow Hematologic pathology (including blood transfusion)