If you have surgery and need a blood transfusion, how can you be sure the donated blood is free of the deadly AIDS virus? That’s a question many are asking since it was discovered that the fatal disease can be transmitted through blood transfusions.
Although every pint now undergoes strict testing to eliminate tainted blood, a small danger remains. Every blood donated will undergo screening for HIV virus, which leads to AIDS. Hepatitis B, syphilis and another rare form of hepatitis also are screened out. But even with screening that at least one pint in every 100,000 donations carries the AIDS infection and slips through to an unsuspecting recipient.
One sure way to avoid AIDS through transfusions is to donate your own blood and have it saved until you need it. A second sure way works like this, during surgery, the doctors collect blood seeping from your wounds, recycle it, and put it back in your body.
These techniques are called autologous transfusion. Autotransfusion is another term for the same thing. This means that you give your own blood back to yourself.
Because of the AIDS crisis, many doctors are more reluctant to give blood transfusions. In one of health institutes they asked that all transfusions be kept to a minimum. They definitely should be given when absolutely needed. But in some cases, the doctor will monitor the patient during the first stages of recovery and prescribe iron supplements to avoid a transfusion.
With every regular blood a person donates, the risk incrementally increases, therefore, the fewer the better. Still, situations may arise when you need blood, and transfusion is a medical necessity.
Autotransfusion during surgery – Some hospitals are now capable of recycling blood lost during surgery, reducing the need for transfusions. Blood that was previously drained out of the body and thrown away is now being filtered, cleaned, treated and returned to the patient. This is known as autotransfusion, because the blood is actually from the same patient.
First, the blood is suctioned out of the wound. Next, the blood is filtered to remove dangerous blood clots and any foreign materials. Blood thinners may be added.
In some systems, the blood is separated in a centrifuge, and only the red cells are kept. Finally, the blood may pass through a sterile solution before it is returned to the patient.
Autotransfusions can be quick and cost-effective. It takes less time to set up the equipment than it does to test for blood type and then cross-match potential blood donors from a blood bank.
