Blood Transfusion

Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but modern medical practice commonly uses only components of the blood, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, clotting factors, and platelets.

They are typically only recommended when a person's hemoglobin levels fall below 8g/dL. One may consider transfusion for people with symptoms of cardiovascular disease such as chest pain or shortness of breath. Globally around 85 million units of red blood cells are transfused in a given year. In cases where patients have low levels of haemoglobin but are cardiovascularly stable, parenteral iron is increasingly a preferred option based on both efficacy and safety.