Our Transfusion Unit meets our patients’ preoperative and postoperative blood and blood product needs by obtaining them from the Turkish Red Crescent Regional Blood Center, with which we have an agreement, and ensures that the blood is administered to the patient after the necessary compatibility tests have been performed.
If the requested blood is not available at the Red Crescent Blood Unit, the Transfusion Unit is authorized to collect blood from volunteer donors who meet the appropriate criteria.
Blood donors arriving at our Transfusion Unit are first greeted by our department secretary and provided with the “Blood Donor Informed Consent Form” to inform them about the procedures to be performed. Next, the process is documented using the “Blood Donor Screening Form” and the “Blood Donor Registration Form.” Blood pressure, pulse, height, and weight are then measured. Provided no contraindications to donating blood are identified during these steps, blood samples are collected from the prospective donor for the necessary tests.
Tests Performed on Blood Donors:
- Blood type (determined using the gel centrifugation method)
- Complete blood count (multiparameter blood count)
- ELISA tests (using a fully automated analyzer): HBsAg, Anti-HCV, Anti-HIV
- VDRL
- Cross-match (to confirm compatibility between the donor’s blood and the recipient’s blood)
If the
donor passes the tests listed above, blood is collected immediately; otherwise, the donor is given an appointment
to donate blood on the date of the patient’s surgery, and is asked to arrive at the scheduled time.
Procedures performed in our Transfusion Unit:
- Evaluation
of blood donor candidates’ eligibility - Collection
of whole blood into bags - Conducting
compatibility testing for the patient using blood and blood products provided by the Red Cross Blood Unit - Storage of blood and blood products received from the Blood Unit that are not immediately needed under appropriate conditions and making
them available for use when necessary
- Conducting
expiration date checks on blood and blood products - Monitoring transfusion data and maintaining
statistics All procedures in our Transfusion Unit are carried out in accordance with the “NATIONAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION, USE, AND QUALITY ASSURANCE OF BLOOD AND BLOOD COMPONENTS—2016.”
