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Blood
Donations
Questions and
Answers
I would like to take the opportunity to share
some questions, and provide some answers, regarding the
memo you received this week on
blood donations.
It is very important to provide our
patients, their relatives and friends with the correct information. As
additional questions are received updates will be provided.
1. What is a
Credit blood donation?
Donations made by relatives and
friends on behalf of the patients who have either been transfused or
will have surgery in the future.
You are just asking them to contribute to the
Blood Bank with their blood donations.
These units of blood become part of the available Blood Bank inventory,
and are used to meet the transfusion needs of
all patients at UTMB and
the Shriners Burn Institute.
There are no charges to the patients until they
are transfused. Transfused patients for whom replacement units have been
donated are issued a US$20.00 voucher to give to the patient. These credits will cover a portion of the hospital charges for the
blood components transfused to the patient, up to and not to exceed the
charges.
2.
Are these
autologous
blood donations?
These are not autologous donations. Autologous
blood donations are those made by the patient a minimum of 3 days to a maximum
of 5 weeks prior to an elective surgery, and are exclusively used by that
individual patient. Autologous donations require an Autologous Blood
Donation Request Form that the ordering clinician needs to complete and
send to the Blood Donation Center prior to the unit being collected. Because
of the extra management and inventory handling processes, autologous blood
donations are more expensive.
3. Are these designated
blood donations?
These are not designated donations. Designated
blood units are reserved for the exclusive use of the patients for whom the
units are donated, and they are not part of the available Blood Bank
inventory. Designated donations must be made a minimum of 3 days
to a maximum of 5 weeks prior to an elective surgery.
Designated donations also require a
Designated Donation Form that the ordering clinician needs to complete and
send to the Blood Donation Center prior to the unit being collected. Because
of the extra management and inventory handling processes, designated blood
donations are also more expensive. An administrative collection fee of US$53
is charged for each designated blood donation regardless of the unit being
transfused or not to the patient. In addition to this collection charge, a
full processing fee of US$263 is charged to the patient for each unit they
receive.
4. Are appointments necessary to make autologous or
designated blood donations?
Appointments are recommended to facilitate and
expedite the donation process. Appointments can be made by calling the UTMB
Blood Donation Center at extension 409-772-4861. The Blood Donation Center
staff can answer any questions you may have before sending your donors over.
You can also request copies of the Autologous and Designated Donation forms at
extension 409-772-4861.
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