What Does Whole Blood Mean?
Whole blood is a medical term. The mixture formed by collecting human blood into a blood collection bag is called whole blood, which includes all components of blood cells and plasma. Blood donation is divided into whole blood donation and component blood donation. Usually, unpaid blood donation is mainly whole blood donation, which can be done in mobile blood collection vehicles, blood collection stations, blood centers, or through organizations. Donating blood components requires special blood collection equipment and devices, so it can only be done at a blood center. Currently, blood components donated include platelets and white blood cells, but the process and time are longer, and the requirements are more complex. If you want to donate blood components, you can register and have a physical examination at the blood center on a weekday morning. After meeting the donation conditions, donate according to the doctor's arrangement, which usually takes more than half a day. According to the spirit of the Chinese Red Cross, to encourage donors who donate blood components, for each donation of blood components, they will be entitled to enjoy four unpaid blood donations for whole blood donation. Donating blood components and donating whole blood have no harm to the body and health.
There are many disadvantages of whole blood transfusion, mainly manifested as follows: The blood cells and plasma proteins contained in whole blood are not concentrated, pure, or sufficient for a therapeutic dose, making it difficult to achieve the expected curative effect; large volume transfusion is prone to circulatory overload and also increases the risk of disease transmission; whole blood transfusion has a higher possibility of causing allogeneic immune reactions and non-hemolytic febrile reactions compared to component blood transfusion; in addition to red blood cells, other components in whole blood basically lose their activity, and the metabolites such as sodium, potassium, ammonia, and lactic acid in stored whole blood are high in content, increasing the metabolic burden on patients. Therefore, there are many contraindications for whole blood transfusion, including:
1. Anemic patients with cardiac insufficiency, heart failure, infants and young children, the elderly, and those with chronic illnesses and weak constitutions.
2. Patients who require long-term and repeated blood transfusions.
3. Patients who have been sensitized to plasma proteins or have developed white blood cell or platelet antibodies from previous blood transfusions or pregnancies.
4. Chronic anemic patients with normal blood volume.
5. Patients who may undergo bone marrow transplantation and other organ transplants.
