Blood transfusion/donatons question

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Chrisandgary

Gary's surgery is on 8/23 - he is going in 8/21 for heparin, 8/22 cath and 8/23 is the big day.
In his past 2 surgeries we had family members donate blood for him - this time it is going to be a hassle to get people there - he will be in NYC this time which is 1 - 1/2 hours away for our family members. They are also now charging $135 processing fee.
Did you guys who have had surgery use the hospitals supply of blood or get family to donate? Also how many bags should we have if the family does donate?
Thanks
Christine ( who is anxiously awaiting to be on the other side - 19 days to go!)
 
Have you talked to the hospital about how they handle out of area patients? When I lived in NJ & had my surgery in NYC, the hospital waived fees because they knew I could not get donations. They did suggest that friends and family donate locally as a gesture but they had plans in place to deal with the situation.

However, maybe times have changed as that was 25 & 23 years ago. :rolleyes:
 
Our son and I donated blood 2x prior to our daughter's surgery. She was able to donate 1x. We donated blood because we needed to feel that we were doing all we could for her health. She would have felt comfortable getting blood from anyone.

We donated at the hospital where she had her surgery. If we had donated elsewhere and had it shipped to her hospital, there would have been a $125 fee.

As it turns out, our daughter needed blood. She is adopted, so now she has family blood in her! That made it seem very special.
 
His surgery may be more complex than typical. For an AVR or MVR, most surgeons will not allow the patients to predonate their own blood, and when asked, most will say, "What would you need it for?" Blood loss requiring replacement is not common for AVR or MVR.

I don't know the protocol for anuerism repair and the requirement for blood, but I still suspect they frequently don't need added blood. Did your husband actually recieve blood products during the prior operations?

Best wishes,
 
Hi Chris

We had directed donations from my family, but they used NONE....our surgeon says they very rarely use additional blood. I wouldn't be too concerned. We went through Greater NY blood bank, DIRECTED DONATIONS. If you need their phone no, I believe I still have it.

Evelyn
 
tobagotwo said:
His surgery may be more complex than typical. For an AVR or MVR, most surgeons will not allow the patients to predonate their own blood, and when asked, most will say, "What would you need it for?" Blood loss requiring replacement is not common for AVR or MVR.

I don't know the protocol for anuerism repair and the requirement for blood, but I still suspect they frequently don't need added blood. Did your husband actually recieve blood products during the prior operations?

Best wishes,

Prior to my surgery, I asked about banking my own blood and the hospital seemed to act insulted that I would even ask if they might need blood. They told me I could donate for myself but not through them, it had to go through some other organization and then to the hospital and then it probably wouldn't be needed anyway. So, I trusted them and let it go.
After my surgery, I found out that I was on the table about 12 hours because of bleeding issues. They told me they used some number of units of blood (I can't remember how many, something like 8) and twenty packets of (platelets?) clotting compound. :eek:
I must have been squirting everywhere!
 
When I received a bovine valve at Cleveland Clinic Ft Lauderdale on June 29, the doctor was pleased that I didn't need any blood. I do have anemia now and am drinking 40-60 ounces of Gatorade a day, along with taking a multi-vitamin with iron and eating spinach. My cardiologist here thinks it's typical to not receive any blood.

Sam (55 year old male)
Panama City FL
 
neutrophil depleted blood

neutrophil depleted blood

Chrisandgary said:
Gary's surgery is on 8/23 - he is going in 8/21 for heparin, 8/22 cath and 8/23 is the big day.
In his past 2 surgeries we had family members donate blood for him - this time it is going to be a hassle

Hi Christine,

When I told my brother-in-law (a general surgeon) that I was going to have open heart surgery, he was not so much concerned that I have "family blood" as that I have neutrophil depleted blood, should a transfusion be necessary. The outcomes can be radically improved. I did not do the homework yet but plan on requesting it for myself and you might want to look into it also. Actually, maybe someone else on the forum would know the possibilities or the means of obtaining this?

Karen
 
Christine,
I don't know all the rules these days, but back when I had my surgery we used the Red Cross disignated donor system.
This allowed family, friends, and co-workers to donate my blood type directly for me.
Rich
 
My surgeon was quite insulted when I asked about donating for myself. He said he had never had to use blood for a valve operation. Might have been some hyperbole there, but he looked genuinely offended.

NYC gets a lot of its blood from New Jersey, because they don't have enough donors of their own. The Red Cross people told me so while I was donating (I used to donate four times a year).

I feel that if you have a Red Cross donation card, they should let you off the hook. You're not the problem.

My gosh, 901, if you ever need surgery again, make sure you get a surgeon who can sew! I have heard heart surgeons referred to as "human sewing machines," because that is the biggest part of what they do. Thank goodness you're still here!

Best wishes,
 
I had an AVR 5 weeks ago. I asked my surgeon, two weeks prior to my operation, about donating my own blood because I have a rare type. He said that he was doing my procedure "bloodlessly". I came to understand that a GREAT MANY of these are performed without additional blood and the additional risks that go with taking blood. They use a different process and use machines that collect and recycle your own blood. Truth is that there are many "bad" things that are screened out but probably just as many they don't even know about. I went into the surgery with a hemoglobin of 15.7 and came out 13.5. Although I am not a Jehovah's Witness I am very glad that I was able to avoid this potential health risk.

Tom
 
Thank you all for your replies! I think it is safe to say I am going to let the blood issue fly. I feel very confident with the surgeon and the hospital and am working on the hotel and packing up my four little children to go elsewhere for the week - I need to concentrate on them and Gary-that I don't feel terrible if I dont line up donors. This is one issue I think I do not need to dwell on!I will focus my energy where it is more needed. My kids are starting to feel sad and nervous as the date is approaching. It is funny that I feel more calm now. On July 13th when we got the bad news I couldnt stop throwing up - so much so I had to be medicated - once we visited with the surgeons, found the one we like and talked hourly with all of you - I feel so much better - I felt out of control the week of 7/13 and now I feel in control - on a mission - to do it right and get it over with!
Now if Gary could just finish our kitchen before he goes in! I have no sink, no oven, no dishwasher......!!!! :eek:
Thank you all again,
Christine
 
Christine:

Sounds like you've made your decision, and are stepping in tune to the matching music.

I did want to add one piece of information. - My husband attempted to donate is own blood twice, through the Red Cross. (This was one week post 911). The first time, he had no problem. The second time he went in, they would not taker the blood, and told me he should be taken directly to hospital. His pulse was irregular, and weak. (He WAS sick at the time, but also in chronic a-fib.)

His Dr. did use the one unit of blood during the surgery. I got the bill for the transport of this one unit of blood cross state, 90 miles. Cost was $500.00
Now, I would have gladly said yes, had I known the cost ahead of time, but no one ever did tell us how much it would be. By the way, insurance does NOT cover this. But, my husband felt very strongly that he wanted his own blood, or mine, and not anyone else's, if it was needed.
Marybeth
 
We did direct donation

We did direct donation

Hi Christine,
For both of Andrew's surgeries we did what they called direct donations. They did not charge us directly for this extra service but may have charged our insurance. I had heard that some hospitals charged extra for this and that insurance won't cover it but at least here in Il it was totally covered and this time it was medicaid since we lost coverage when my husband was laid off.

I have been reasured that the blood is very safe no mater which way you go. Nonetheless it was reasuring to me that I knew each of his donors at his first surgery when I was informed that the blood donated at that time had not been tested properly. I do not believe anyone got a bloodborne disease from that incident but it gave me great peace of mind that I wouldn't have had had we gotten his blood from the general public. This was important as he had to have tests to determine if he had picked up any nasty stuff several months later.

The amount you will need will be told to you from the c/v surgery people. Maybe double check about the charge through your insurance. Also ours was done through Lifesource and people were able to donate locally in a nearby town instead of all the way downtown. Maybe that is how they work it too. Have the surgeons coordinators given you information about how to do the direct donations? Hope this helps some. All the best to you as you await.
 

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