Stupid Question:Blood tranfusion from Blood lost?

Question

I was just wondering isn't it possible to collect blood lost from patients or lost by women on their periods and filter it to get clean blood which can be used for transfusions...like i said stupid question but i don't know the answer prob really obvious

Answer 1

Not really, for several reason:

The leaked blood is mostly old and dead.

It's mixed with tissue from the vaginal walls.

The amount is very small, by the time you got any significant volume the blood would be dead.

What woman wants to wear a collector on their vaj just to harvest a little blood?

Answer 2

It isn't a stupid question.

The answer regarding collecting blood from a period is no. the reason for this is that it is not just blood that is lost during a period. The lining of the womb sheds and this makes up the majority of the loss. It would be impossible to filter the actual blood lost as it has no anticoagulant (to stop it clotting) and once it leaves the body it clots, indeed sometimes before!

The second part of your question, about collecting lost blood from patients, is perfectly possible. It's done  using machines (as two people have said) called a Cellsaver or something very similar. It's technically termed Blood Salvage. However, in the UK at present, this can only be done under controlled circumstances, such as in an operating theatre (and is ideally planned beforehand) - things may differ in other countries. As an alternative to transfusion of donated blood this is a fantastic option, for two main reasons. 1) It totally cuts the risk of a patient ' rejecting' the blood (known as transfusion reaction) as the blood was theirs to start with. 2) It saves donated blood for those who need it in an emergency.

More and more hospitals are starting to use Cellsavers. The name for this is autologous transfusion (literally 'self transfusion'). It is also acceptable to most Jehovah's Witnesses too.

See? Not such a silly question!

Answer 3

No, because there isn't enough of it. It isn't sterile.

Blood contains cells, the building blocks of life. Filtering them probably would do them more harm than good.

If you needed a blood transfusion would you want your blood to have originated from a v****a?

And how exactly would you collect the blood? If somebody stabbed themselves I don't think they're appreciate you standing there with a bucket instead of helping them.

I'd say it's a pretty bad idea. Sorry!

Answer 4

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWH

thank you and goonight!

Answer 5

Actually, there is a way to collect blood lost during an operation, filter it and give it back to the same patient--they use something called a Cell-Saver.  It can't always replace a transfusion, and it isn't used in non-operative situations (like in the ER--there would be too much potential for contamination, I would imagine), but it's definitely not a stupid question.  

They don't use that blood for anyone else, though--if it isn't given back to the patient intra-operatively, it's discarded.

Answer 6

Menstrual flow only contains a very small amount of blood.  It just seems like a lot when it's yours.

Dr. M is right about the Cell-Saver. We use that in trauma cases, or other non-cancer cases where a lot of blood loss is expected.  The cells are collected with suction right from the surgical field, washed, and bagged, and then we transfuse them back to the patient.

Picture of older Cell-Saver:

http://www.pemed.com/bloodbank/cellsaver...

Info on newer product:

http://www.haemonetics.com/site/content/...

Answer 7

women dont lose a lot of blood on their periods, the majority of it is the lining of the womb.

Answer 8

Dr. Marie beat me to the punch!

Answer 9

Large trauma centers have autotransfusers that can clean and recycle some blood lost.

Women's periods aren't just bleeding. They're the sloughing of endometrium, which happens to be a bloody mess.

Answer 10

It would be difficult to collect it, it wouldn't be clean and there is a risk of bacterial infection of the blood which could be disastrous if given to an already sick patient. In addition as soon as blood leaves the body it starts to clot making it useless for transfusions. Not a stupid question just not possible in reality.