Is Blood Transfusion Necessary?
Blood transfusion is required for many children who have heart surgery and sometimes for other reasons. Blood contains a variety of components, including the red blood cells which carry oxygen, proteins in the plasma and a number of special factors which are necessary for blood clotting to take place (e.g. platelets, fibrinogen, factor 8, etc.). These components are sometimes given separately, e.g. platelets or plasma, where there is a problem needing treatment with specific blood products. It used to be thought that every child having heart surgery (especially open heart surgery) would need a blood transfusion. Nowadays, with much improved heart-lung bypass equipment, this is not always the case. In young children (up to two or three years old) it is usually desirable to use blood products, as they may become severely or dangerously anaemic without them. In older children, depending on the complexity of the procedure and the amount of blood which they are likely to lose during the operation, it is often possible to manage without transfusion and when feasible, this is now the preferred option. All children will have their blood cross matched before surgery so that it is available if required.The blood is provided by the Red Cross Blood Bank and is carefully screened. The provision of blood by families of children undergoing heart operations (for use in their individual child) is not usually possible. Donor screening procedures prevent the transfusion of blood from new donors until several months after their initial screening tests.This ensures that the tests can be repeated twice, at a time interval of several months, before blood (taken after the second round of testing) is actually transfused into a patient. However, recruitment of new donors from families of patients is helpful, and facilitates greatly the valuable work of the Red Cross Blood Bank throughout the community. Those wishing to become blood donors should contact the nearest Red Cross Blood Bank.
