Question

A 55-year old man is contemplating surgery for severe arthritis in the right hip.

1. What should be known to determine how many units of RBC's should be crossmatched?

2. how can it be determined if the patient can donate blood ( autologous predoposit) for use during surgery?

3. The patient has a history of bleeding after a tonsillectomy at age 7 years. What tests should be done to further study this potential problem?

4. If the patient is found to have von Willebrands disease, which blood product might be necessary?

Answer 1

1, Pretransfusing testing should be done. It includes ABO and Rh(D) typing of the recipients' RBC and an antibody screen. Ti detects non-ABO Antibodies in the recipients' plasma for the presence of anit A and B using Type A and B RBC. A unit of right ABO and Rh type blood is selected, a drop of donor RBC from unit mixed with a drop of the plasma causes donor blood cell to clump. RBC blood transfusions start slowly patients must watch for transfusion reaction symptoms. A patient who is at high risk of bleeding, severe anemia, recent transfusion CBC test should be done for transfusion and unit of RBC needed.
2, A type and screen determine ABO blood group and Rh type and screens for alloantibodies if the patient needs blood. crossmatch with patient sample and unit of blood. Autologous transfusion means transfusion in which donor and the recipient will be the same person who has predeposited blood will be used for the prior pretransfusion testing process the same as donor blood.
3, Hemoglobin, Bleeding time, clotting time, international normalized ratio(INR), partial prothrombin time(PTT) and prothrombin time(PT) should be done to further study this potential problem.
4, In von willebrand diesase there will be low platelet adhesion to injured blood vessels. The treatment option is desmopressin and transfusional therapy with plasma products is necessary.