Because the safest blood to take if you need a transfusion is your own. Its the best and most reliable blood and its possible to donate your own blood for your own use at a later date under a program practiced at nearly two of every three hospitals in the country.
All hospitals, of course, have a rule that before any operation can take place blood for the patients type must be on hand in case a transfusion is necessary. Such blood usually comes from donors, and in spite of tests, minute incompatibilities can sometimes go undetected. That can be dangerous, causing adverse reactions such as fever, chills and a rash. Even cases of hepatitis may occur in spite of careful testing, but they are extremely rare.
Now, a majority of hospitals offer patients the option of donating their own blood well ahead of a scheduled operation six to eight weeks is recommended. One method may require the patient to make weekly donations, one pint at a time, for three weeks to the blood bank. The blood is labeled with the patients name and stored for the operation.
What if the operation is delayed? Some blood banks are equipped to freeze blood for up to seven years. But if it turns out you dont need the blood you can donate it to the banks supply, where it will be kept on hand for another patient with the same blood type. And youll get credit at the blood bank for yourself, a relative, or a friend.
If you want to receive your own blood youll undergo the same routine tests that any donor candidate does: a blood test for anemia, blood typing and tests for HIV and hepatitis viruses.
And dont worry about being weakened by giving blood. Doctors point out that the normal body restores its blood levels rapidly after a transfusion.
Robin Westen writes for national magazines about health.
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