Transfusion Medicine (Blood Bank)

Transfusion Medicine is the department at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital Indore that deals with all aspects of blood transfusion. Transfusion of this blood involves the collection of blood samples which needs to be performed safely and appropriately.

Whole blood transfusion is a life-saving medical therapy that saves the life of patients who undergo extensive blood loss either due to trauma, surgery, or other causes. Blood component transfusion is used to treat specific conditions where specific elements are missing from the blood. For example, administration of packed cells in severely anaemic patients or transfusion of platelet concentrates in patients with abnormally low platelets. Frequent red cell transfusion is required in patients with sickle-cell disease. For haemophilia, missing clotting factors (either VIII or IX) are administered.

Blood transfusion is in no way a single event. Rather, it is a process that starts with choosing an eligible donor. Once the donors are acquired, the blood is collected safely following standard protocols and guidelines. After the collection is over, the main focus is the safety and preservation of blood products, as well as testing them for compatibility, infectious diseases, and other anomalies. Then the recipient factors like proper identification of the patient and the unit, ensuring blood transfusion as the best treatment modality, administration of the blood or its components, and post-transfusion monitoring are considered.

In the Transfusion Medicine Department, blood is collected from screened donors, either in whole or some of its components, such as only the platelets or plasma. After that, the product is transported to a processing unit for testing, fractionation, testing, and redistribution. During testing, the blood group of the blood product is determined, and it is screened for infectious diseases. Fractionation of whole blood into RBCs, plasma, and platelets is done. Plasma can be further separated into components like clotting factor, albumin, immunoglobulin, and concentrates.

The blood and its components are stored and distributed from the blood bank, which is supervised by a transfusion specialist. The Transfusion Medicine department covers both the clinical and laboratory aspects of blood transfusion, as communication between the patients and the blood bank, concerned specialists, and allied medical staff is crucial in situations like massive blood transfusions or transfusion reactions.

Quality assurance systems and regimented procedures covering all the steps in the blood transfusion chain ranging from donation to transfusion outcomes, are in place in our department to ensure the safety of blood components. All the procedures are performed in accordance with international standards and guidelines, and the patients are constantly monitored for transfusion reactions post-transfusion.

All the members of our Transfusion medicine team, including transfusion medicine specialists, laboratory scientists, transfusion nurses, and clinicians, are highly skilled and experienced in the field of transfusion medicine. They provide an optimum level of transfusion services by combining their expertise with the state-of-the-art machines and medical equipment available in the department.