Question re autologous blood

[Houston Curves]

I want autologous blood and my dr's offiice does not like to do this. They indicate that I would not be able to donate enough before my surgery, that I could not start until 30 days beore and no closer than 10 days, and that I would only be able to donate 1 unit and will require at least 4, probably 6 or more. For those of you who have given blood for your own use, please, let me know what you did. What were the time frames?

It is important to me because I have been a Commit for Life donor since my kids were born because they required so many transfusion just to stay alive. If I have donated blood from another person, I won't be able to donate again for an extended period of time. This is just very important to me because it allows me to give back.

Please, give me as much feedback as you can. Thanks.

Ann

[LStephens]

Hi Ann
I just gave blood for my own surgery. However, my doctor only required one unit because my surgery shouldn't be as extensive.
Here is the basic information I was given about the donation:
The blood is only good for 5-6 weeks (dependent on the site where it is given and the preservation techniques they use)
My surgery is July 30 and I could not give blood before June 25 (5 weeks before) or after July 16 (2 weeks before)...This allows the blood to be "good" for your surgery and allows your body to replinish the blood before surgery
The average person can donate 1 unit a week

[sccrm08]

Hi Ann

I was given the same time frame as you and donated two units for myself. With the second unit, even though I was taking high doses of iron my iron had droped 3 points and barely qualified. I also had two family members donate. I needed 3 units during the surgery and will not qualify to donate for 6 months. Honestly I'm 2 months post op and still totally exausted and know I would not qualify to donate again yet anyways.

Good Luck,

[HGD24]

I only gave one unit of blood for my surgery and they ended up using two during surgery and 2 more a few days later when my blood oxygen levels would not come up. The rest of my blood was recycled during the surgery.

I can understand your feelings about donating. My husband donates every few months. Since my surgery, he has been donating double-reds where they take only the red blood cells and pump the plasma back into you. It's one donation that ends up giving 2 units of red blood cells. He's O neg, so they love his donations!

Good luck...

[abhbarry]

I donated three units before my surgery and still needed extra transfusions during my hospital stay. Because of those transfusions I'm not supposed to donate, but when I can, I will because I now know how essential and life saving blood donations are. It seems like everyone has different experiences with blood donations (re: how much to give before surgery). I think the standard is usually between 1-3 units. I could be wrong though. . .

[rainbow2010]

My 14 year old daughter gave two pints before her surgery. They only used one during surgery, but gave her the second in recovery to help her healing. She gave blood twice and had her surgery all in the month of May. I don't remember the exact time frame as she had other doctors' appointment around then also. Ask your doctor if they can recover the blood that you loose and give it back to you. My daughter gives blood regularly now that she is 17.

[MishP]

Ann,

Thanks for starting this post. I was talking with my brother this weekend and he was saying that the Red Cross doesn't allow him to donate blood for up to 3 months post giving 1 pint. So I'm finding it difficult to comprehend how I'm suppose to give 3 units in one month when they don't even allow you to give 1 unit in three months.

I don't want to be in worse shape before surgery....ya know?

abhbarry...how did you do it??

[Janet]

Perhaps, like everything else related to our surgeries, each local Red Cross has different rules?

Oakland, CA. Red Cross said donations had to be no more than 34 days in advance and no less than 14 days in advance, and that I could donate once a week as long as my hematocrit was at an acceptable level. Assuming everything works out perfectly, that means I could donate 3 units.

Also, I can start donating way in advance and have the blood frozen. Red Cross charges an additional, but not huge, fee to freeze. Thawing is another issue

MishP: Dr. B's nurse, Lindy, told me that HSS does not charge for freezing, but charges $500 per unit to thaw

I will be in NYC in October, so I'm thinking maybe I could donate 1 unit at HSS then and have it frozen, and request that that unit be the last one to be used after my non-frozen donations have been used (I have no idea if this is even feasible!)

To add to the mix of confusion and desire to avoid donated materials, Dr. B said the bone chips that are used to fill the cages will be first from my own ribs, then if more bone is needed, from cadavers ... which in a way makes moot the concerns about the source of blood.

[HGD24]

This is from the Red Cross website: "Making donations for your own use during surgery (autologous blood donation) is considered a medical procedure and the rules for eligibility are less strict than for regular volunteer donations. "

The timeframe between public donations is 8 weeks (56 days).

Here's a link to their website for blood donation guidelines. There is a lot of very useful information and answers to some issues that have been raised here (ie: timeframe between transfusion and ability to give blood again):

http://www.redcross.org/services/bio...0_557_,00.html

[katblack]

I'm O neg, so I had to donate for my own surgery. I donated 4 units, a week apart from each other.
I ate a ton of iron rich foods between each donation, and was good to go.
I didn't use the red cross to donate, I used a blood service place, because red cross had too many restrictions.
My last donation was one week before surgery too.
I was fine.

[Shari]

Hi Ann,

Every once in a while something comes up here that riles me up. I think most of us that have had this surgery have been required to donate blood. I could be wrong!!!

This is one of those subjects that I just can't understand why everything is done differently!!!! This is one of the most simple fricking thing about this surgery and why is it so complicated and confusing???

You can probably tell that I had a bad experience with the Red Cross regarding my blood donations. My husband and I are both O+ and he couldn't donate in case I might get pregnant, I was 45 yrs old, and children were not in my plans . Then they sent me a letter that told me I had tested positive for Hep C., and contacted my local Health Department and put me on the "Infectious Disease" list. Needless to say a year later I was tested for "real" and I didn't have it.

Sorry I rambled, but if you need someone to donate in your place until you are able to do it again, I think there are a lot of us here that would be more than willing to help you out.

Shari

[CStadler]

I will be donating my own blood and am on 600 mg of Palifer which I was told is a more concentrated iron for what we need. I will also have to have 3 injections before each donation of Eprex. From what I understand it boosts your red blood cells and makes the hemoglobin bounce back quicker for the next donation. It isn't cheap but if it will allow me to donate my own then money is nothing.