Blood Donation Flashcards
Why is there such a high demand on RhD donors?
Sickle cell anaemia patients require blood in treatment and prevention. Many are given Ro blood but only 2% of the population are Ro so alternative Rhd blood can be given.
What are the ideal donors for blood donation?
Ideal donors are the ones that come back because they require less testing and these people are more likely attend donation sessions during busy times.
What rewards are often given to donors?
Donors can receive trinkets and often get texts from NHSBT telling them when their blood has been shipped to a hospital.
Why is it unethical to test for prions?
- We don’t know yet if a positive test means you will develop vCJD.
- This will stop people being able to give bold if they could develop vCJD.
- There is no treatment for vCJD - it is unethical to test people if you can’t offer a treatment.
What are the main reasons for specifically choosing donors?
- To ensure that they do not come to harm from giving their donation.
- So that the donation is unlikely to harm the recipient.
What are the age restrictions for donating blood?
17 - 66 for first time donors or 17-70 for regular donors.
What are the weight restrictions for donating blood?
Must have a weight at least 7 stone 12lbs. There is no upper weight limit.
Why must you be at least 7 stone 12lbs to donate blood?
Anybody below this weight would be likely to faint when losing approximately half a litre of blood because they are losing a lot of their total blood volume.
What topics does the blood donor questionnaire cover?
Demographics, lifestyle, health and well-being, infection risk, understanding of the blood donation policy.
Why is the blood donor questionnaire used?
This is a quick, cheap and effective way of increasing the safety of the blood supply.
How often do you have to do a blood donation questionnaire?
Every time you donate.
If you answer ‘yes’ to any of the questions on the blood donation questionnaire, what happens next?
You will have an oral interview to see if you are eligible to give blood.
What are the symptoms of vCJD?
Symptoms of dementia and also movement issues.
What are classed as the ‘high risk groups’ for blood borne diseases in terms of donating blood?
- Men who have sex with men.
- Commercial sex workers.
- People who have sex with another member of a high risk groups 1 or 2.
Who makes the decisions about who can give blood?
Department of Health
Who advises the Department Of Health who should and shouldn’t donate blood?
Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood Tissues and Organs.
What is a prion?
A type of mutated protein that can enter your cells and alter their machinery.
How can the people who are in a high risk group for blood borne diseases donate blood?
These groups have been Able to donate since Nov 2017 once 3 months since the sexual activity has occurred.
Why are high risk groups able to donate blood after 3 months of sexual abstinence?
This 3 month is the window period in which newly acquired infections may not be detected by microbiological testing.
In what month and year did it become okay for high risk groups to donate blood?
November 2017
Can you give if you have had a blood transfusion previously?
No
Why can’t you give blood if you have previously had a transfusion?
To prevent the transmission of prions in the blood which can cause vCJD.
What is vCJD?
A fatal neurological disease.
The prion that causes vCJD also causes what disease?
Mad cow disease
How many cases of transmitting vCJD from blood donation have been found since 1999 and how many donors were they from?
4 cases
3 donors
Why are other countries unlikely to take blood donations from the UK?
They will not risk transmissions of the prions that cause vCJD.
What may cause people to be deferred blood donation until a later date?
Tattoos, piercings and semi-permanent makeup.
Acupuncture
Travel (some areas may have a risk of tropical viruses)
Illness
Pregnancy
Why is a haemoglobin test carried out before blood donation ?
The donor must have adequate haemoglobin levels to tolerate the blood donation
Outline how the haemoglobin test is carried out
Finger prick produces a drop of blood which is dripped into copper sulphate solution (2 different strengths for male and females). The drop of blood should fall through the liquid within 15 seconds.
What test is used to find if adequate haemoglobin levels are in a possible blood donor?
The copper sulphate test
Why is the safest blood supply from volunteer donors?
They are unpaid so have no realise to lie about their health.
They are not family donors. Family donors are often less likely to state whether they are in a risk factor group for blood borne diseases.
Why can’t you donate blood if you’ve had a blood transfusion or received human tissue since 01/01/1980?
There is a risk of transmission of the prions that cause vCJD.
What are the 3 possible methods to test blood donation samples for detection of blood borne diseases?
Nucleic acid tests
Antigen assays
Antibody assays
What diseases is every blood donation sample tested for?
Blood borne diseases Syphilis HIV Hepatitis B Hepatitis C Hepatitis E
How is syphilis tested for in blood donation samples ?
The antibodies for ‘Treponema Pallidum’ are tested for.
What are the symptoms of tertiary syphilis?
Cardiovascular problems, involvement of the central nervous system, non-cancerous benign growths.
What are the possible tests for HIV in blood donation samples?
Antibodies to the virus
HIV NAT
What 2 antibodies can be tested for when testing for HIV in a blood donation sample?
anti-HIV1 and anti-HIV2
What cells are destroyed by HIV?
CD4+ T cells
What are the tests that can be carried out to discover Hepatitis B in a blood donation sample?
Hep B surface antigen detection.
HBV NAT
Antibodies to the virus
What are some of the issues that Hepatitis B can cause in the body?
Total liver failure/ damage.
May require a liver transplant.
What are the tests for Hepatitis C in a blood donation sample?
Antibody test
HCV NAT
What are the issues within the body that Hep C can cause?
Liver damage
Hepatocelllar Carcinoma
What is hepatocellular carcinoma?
Primary liver cancer
What is the test for Hep E being in a blood donation sample?
HEV NAT
What are the issues that Hep E can cause in the body?
Hep E is often asymptomatic but can be responsible for liver damage and acute liver failure.
What additional disease must first-time donors be tested for?
Human T cell Lymphotropic Virus
What is the test for Human T cell Lymphotropic Virus being in in a blood donation sample?
Antibodies to the virus
What are the issues in the body that HTLV can cause?
T-cell Leukaemia
Chronic inflammatory diseases
What is the test used to see if Malaria is in a blood donation sample?
Antibodies to the plasmodium
How is Malaria transmitted?
Mosquitos
What are the issues that Malaria causes in the body?
Cycles of fever
Malaise and Jaundice
What is the test to see if CMV is in a blood donation sample?
Antibodies to the virus
What is the test to see if West Nile virus is in a blood donation sample?
WNV NAT
How is West Nile virus transmitted?
Via mosquitos in endemic areas.
What are the symptoms of West Nile virus?
Fever Headaches Vomiting Flaccid paralysis Can lead to encephalitis
What is encephalitis?
Swelling of the brain
Outline the blood donation process
- Donations are sorted into products that they are going to come and given a produce code.
- Hung onto overhead filtration system.
- Units are batched Ito a computer system for traceability.
- Centrifuged to separate red cells and plasma.
- Samples onto Optopress to push out the separated red cells.
- Products hung Leukocart and additive added to extend life of the red cells when the plasma isn’t present
- Samples fully labeled with weight, contents et
- Stored at 4 degrees
What temperature are blood donations stored at ?
4 degrees Celsius
What are the issues with platelet donations?
They expire after 3-4 days and have a shelf life at 7 days.
What type of donations have the highest risk of bacterial contamination and why?
Platelets because they are stored at a higher temperature.
What are the possible sources of bacterial contamination for donations?
Skin, asymptomatic donors, contaminated blood bags, contaminated water baths used to defrost frozen components, contamination during processing.
What are the reasons why a donation sample may be recalled?
Donors may inform the NHSBT that they have developed an illness which may mean that the donation is discarded.
Quality monitoring
Bad patient reaction to a component - NHSBT inducts recall of all other donations from the same donor.
How is bacterial contamination screened for in terms of blood donation samples?
An automated blood culture system is used to detect bacterial contamination of platelet components throughout their shelf life.
