Banking blood before surgery

[watson524]

Hi all,

My mom is most likely going to have her MV replaced at the Cleveland Clinic sometime fairly soon. Wondering if people bank their blood (or matching family member's blood) before surgery? The interesting twist is that we live 8 hours away in Northeast PA so I'm not evern sure how/if that would work. I will be the only one going with my mom to Cleveland for the surgery.

thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[Lynlw]

Hi, Most surgeries don't require blood these days, You should ask the surgeon if he thinks your Mom will need any blood.
but some people do bank their own blood. (autologous blood) One concern is IF you donate your own blood too close to surgery, you might be going into surgery with a lower blood count than if you didn't donate, so end up anemic. You CAN donate for a family member,(directed donor) but usually insurance won't pay for the cost , so you might have to pay for all the testing as well as the cost of shipping it to Cleveland IF they do that (I'm not sure they would, the best place to ask would be the RED Cross) Another thought would be CCF probably has a donation center (many larger hospital do) You might find out IF you were there a couple days before surgery, would they be able to get all the testing done in time for your Mom's surgery if you donated the first day you got in town.

When my son had his first couple surgeries 20 years ago, we had to dirct donate, because they wanted 1 day old blood for the heart babies and they used more blood then, needed 1 unit just to prime the heart/lung machine, but his last few surgeries we didn't donate and he didn't need any blood.

 

[watson524]

Good to know, thanks for the info. I think once we get the appointments set up, I'll call the nurse or office staff to see what's what. I've never given blood before (terrified of needles, getting blood for blood work is a "process" because it seems to take so long to fill a tiny vial, getting my ears pierced almost caused me to pass out LOL!) but obviously for this reason, I'll suck it up and do what's necessary.

 

[Lynlw]

Do you know if your blood types are compatible?

 

[watson524]

You know I honestly don't. I believe my mom is O+ (I think she's a universal donor but can't donate because of the meds she's on) and I THINK my dad was O+ and if I remember my highschool biology, that means I have to be O+ but I know there's also other factors taken into account to determine compatibility.

 

[Lynlw]

Yes if your Mom and Dad were both O+ then you would be O and should be compatible (unless she built up antibodies from getting blood before or pregancy). IF your Dad was any other type you may or may not be compatible.

 

[Lynlw]

Here's the link to CCF information on Blood use, donations ect http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/4200/4210.asp?index=10345

 

[Mentu]

As Lyn said, there is normally very little blood loss during heart surgery today. My surgeon measured less than 6 oz during my surgery and did not use the blood I had banked. I gather that this is pretty typical. One thing I discovered is that it is much more expensive to bank one's own blood than it is for someone such as yourself to donate blood for another's surgery. Your local Red Cross blood center can set up handling a donation and getting it to the hospital.

Larry

 

[Philip B]

Banking Blood

Banking Blood

I think I've got a rare type... it's mine.

On a more serious note, the banking blood question was one that I asked my surgeon. He told me not to worry about it as they collect the majority of the blood produced during surgery, filter it and put it right back where it came from.

Still, your question would be one to ask the surgeon. Protocols may differ.

-Philip

 

[Eva]

I did not bank any blood and my surgeon asked me not to worry and that he would take care of this, if needed. Luckily, I did not need any. And I echo what has been said above.

Good luck to your mom.

 

[NealR]

Interesting this is the second time this subject came up this week.

I did donate (bank) my own blood. I came up with the idea after reading the agreement I had to sign off on by my surgeon, which did mention a "small risk" due to "blood transfusions. Both my Brother, who had an AVR, and my father, who had by-pass, received transfusions, and both had a-fibs. I consulted with an oncologist who strongly recommended doing this, if I was able. The challenge was they could only bank the blood for up to 30 days, and my surgeon said I would need 3 units of blood, separated into red blood cells and platelets. My surgeon felt comfortable that if I did need a transfusion, the blood supply was safe.

I ended up only donating two units, (which knocked me out!) and was taking iron pills right up to surgery, and after, for another 4 weeks.
I ended up only needing the platelets, and had a pretty smooth and quick recovery, without the a-fibs. I can't confirm, for sure, that by doing this for sure, played a role in this, but will consult with my cardio next week when I meet for my 1st year aniv.

 

[watson524]

Thanks to everyone for all the advice. The challenge (assuming we're a match) would be coming from far away and the timing it can all take. I think once we get appointments set up, I'll be making some phone calls to talk to them and see what, if anything, we should/could do ahead of time. So many things to think about!

 

[scott.eitman]

On a more serious note, the banking blood question was one that I asked my surgeon. He told me not to worry about it as they collect the majority of the blood produced during surgery, filter it and put it right back where it came from.

This is what I was told at the CCF as well.

Scott

 

[watson524]

That really is amazing.... I'd actually like to know what the collection process is. It's amazing what they can do these days.

 

[Lynlw]

That really is amazing.... I'd actually like to know what the collection process is. It's amazing what they can do these days.

They usually are called "cell savers" Here's a little about them but if you search for blood salvage or cell saver, you can probably find alot of info about them
http://www.cts.usc.edu/zglossary-cellsaver.html
Cell Saver (Intraoperative Cell Salvage Machine)

Commonly known as a "cell saver", the intraoperative cell salvage machine suctions, washes, and filters blood so it can be given back to the patient's body instead of being thrown away. One advantage to this is the patient receives his/her own blood instead of donor blood, so there is no risk of contracting outside diseases. Because the blood is recirculated, there is no limit to the amount of blood that can be given back to the patient. The cell saver is also a viable alternative for patients with religious objections to receiving blood transfusions

 

[watson524]

That's really cool! Thanks!

here's another link I just found on it too http://wiki.noblood.org/Intraoperative_blood_salvage

 

[Lynlw]

That's really cool! Thanks!

here's another link I just found on it too http://wiki.noblood.org/Intraoperative_blood_salvage

They've been around pretty much as long as I can remember, so I think most if not all hospitals use them.

 

[watson524]

that's good to know. i'll ask the necessary questions, but it seems like one less thing to worry about in the grand scheme of things.

 

[traveler]

I had my procedure at Mayo and the surgeon suggested that I bank 5, which I did -- he used 2.

 

[Johan]

I was all set to bank my own blood but could not put it together in the time available. Doctors then said it was probably not necessary as they salvage my own blood.

Just to confirm what Lyn mentioned, it seems to be standard procedure at most hospitals. At our hospital the cardiovascular perfusion equipment (heart/lung bypass pump) is owned and operated by a private person and his account shows the salvaging of blood and the use of the autotransfusion cell washing device. It seems to be part and parcel of the bypass pump equipment....

BUT I had such a platelet problem in the ICU that I still needed 2 units from the general bloodbank. Not very happy about having received foreign blood but at that stage had no choice, in fact I was still totally sedated and was only told afterwards.