How Does a Blood Transfusion Work?
Blood is a vital fluid which carries the nutrients, oxygen, and chemical elements in the different organs, cells, and tissues of the body. It is also primarily responsible for transporting oxygen and nutrients to the lungs and heart as well as releasing any metabolic waste from the body.
There are many types of blood namely A, B, and O. Sometimes, there is a combination of blood types depending on the genetic makeup of their blood cells such as AB. When a person undergoes blood transfusion, it is important to know what blood type it represents.
Moreover, the human blood cells are infused with Rh factors in which it can be a positive Rh or a negative Rh. What might be the difference between the two? A Rhesus (Rh) positive means that the red blood cells contain this protein. In addition, the Rh positive is the most common type of blood cell present among the humans.
On the other hand, the Rh negative represents the red blood cells which lack protein. Even if the Rh negative does not affect the overall health of the individual, it is believed that it has an effect on pregnant women. As a medical advice, it is important to have a regular checkup regarding your pregnancy and ultrasound for the baby to determine any signs of health risks. To expatiate further, let’s understand more about the blood types and blood transfusion.
Overview of the Blood Types and Blood Transfusion
Every red blood cell may represent a positive or a negative Rh factor blood type. There are 8 possible blood types such as A-positive, A-negative, B-positive, B-negative, and so on. Usually, an individual who carries this antigen A can only undergo blood transfusion with the same blood type. What will be the effect if a person is injected with a different blood type?
Imagine eating a spoiled food, as a tendency, your body will definitely react and your defense mechanism will start to respond. What would normally be the effects? You might experience fever, vomiting, nausea, and more. The same principle applies to the mismatched blood transfusion. Your body will react and the immune system will eject these foreign invaders out of your body.
Usually, you will be experiencing health risk related symptoms as a defense mechanism of the body. Injecting a different blood type is definitely a serious problem that’s why many medical practitioners and doctors have high safety measures in dealing with blood transfusion treatment.
Blood Transfusion as a Lifeline Saver
Why would someone need a blood transfusion? In many cases, the medical practitioners and doctors recommend blood transfusion to patients suffering from autoimmune hemolytic anemia. This blood disorder is definitely a tricky disease to treat because it can root to different stages and symptoms. There are mild and acquired anemic conditions which can be treated through food eating habits, iron intake, and rest. However, there are inherited blood disorders which can only be treated using blood transfusion.
A blood transfusion is performed by a licensed professional and conducted typically at hospitals or authorized outpatient clinics. In this treatment, the patient will be examined first to determine his heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature. Blood donors who have diseases or anemic cannot donate blood to the others since these blood are treated as unhealthy. Only those donors who passed the laboratory blood tests can donate blood and use for blood transfusion procedures.
This sensitive medical procedure can last for about four hours. Moreover, the licensed doctors and medical practitioners you can find at xpertdox scrutinized the blood type and match it with the corresponding donated blood type and Rh factor. Sometimes, if the patient has a complex blood type, it may encounter allergic reactions. In this case, the doctors will prescribe medical treatments such as Tylenol or Benadryl to cure these illnesses and infections.
The Blood Transfusion Procedures
Abnormal hemoglobin, irregular red blood cell shapes, menstruation, internal bleeding, and other blood health risks incidents may fall eventually to anemia. This blood disorder can stem from a mild and may aggravate thus, it becomes a severe condition. When this happens, the common treatment to cure this blood disorder is through blood transfusion.
How does the blood transfusion take place? First of all, a blood donation will be conducted and strict screening will be assessed to match the patient’s blood with the corresponding type and Rh factor. Thereafter, the patient will be physically examined to check his overall health conditions. The physical examination should be cleared first before the patient may proceed with the blood transfusion.
Normally, the blood will be transfused through the veins to let the blood flow and spread all over the patient’s blood’s stream. What will be the effect of the blood transfusion? This treatment allows the patient’s body to supply oxygenated blood through the bloodstream. It also increases the number of the red blood cells as well as normalized the hemoglobin of the body.