Directed Donations

The directed donor program is available for elective surgeries and chronically transfused patients who wish to receive blood donated by family and friends, instead of random blood donors. A directed donation of blood is a donation by a type specific donor who has been recruited by the intended recipient of the blood. The directed donor must meet all standard whole blood donation requirements. Directed donation does not ensure safer or even as safe a blood product, nor does it decrease the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections. This program cannot accommodate those patients facing medical emergency transfusions of blood.

Facts about Directed Donation:

1. At least five working days are required between the blood donation and the intended transfusion to allow for proper processing and testing of the blood unit. An additional day for units donated by blood relatives must be allowed for irradiation of the blood. Units donated for infant transfusion require special processing to remove white cells, which reduces the risk of CMV infection. This may add additional processing time.

2. Only those units found to be compatible will be reserved for the intended patient. All other units will be immediately released for other patient use. Recipients demonstrating antibody problems may be excluded from the directed donor program. Acceptable blood for infants is also dependent on the mother’s blood type and antibody status. Donors cannot be prescreened for compatibility.

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