Blood Bank

The Blood Bank or Transfusion Service Lab provides advanced blood transfusion support for our patients. Staffed by certified technologists, the lab ensures a safe and rapidly available blood supply to meet the needs of all our patients. The lab operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with supervision by specially trained medical technologists and a medical director with extensive experience in blood transfusion therapy. We use advanced technical methods for compatibility testing, and our blood supply is provided only by donor centers that are fully licensed by the Food and Drug Administration.

The blood supply in the United States is subjected to such extensive testing that it is currently regarded as the safest blood transfusion system in the world. Some patients may, however, wish to participate in an autologous blood program, in which they donate their own blood days or weeks before a scheduled surgery. Then at the time of their surgical procedure, they can be transfused with their own blood, thus avoiding many, but not all, risks associated with transfusion.

Our Transfusion Service Lab has made arrangements with FDA-licensed blood centers in the region to enable our patients to participate in such autologous blood programs. Patients who wish to have their own ("autologous") blood available for a scheduled surgery should discuss their interest with their physician, who can counsel them as to whether they would be medically able to donate for themselves. If the patient and physician decide that autologous donations would be appropriate, then the patient should contact 1-800-35BLOOD to obtain the details on how to arrange such donations.

Sometimes a patient cannot donate blood for themselves and would prefer to have a family member or a close friend donate blood specifically for their use. Again, the patient should discuss this with their physician, who must authorize such donations, and then call 1-800-35BLOOD.