Transfusion Services
Our Transfusion Service promotes the highest quality of care for patients in all aspects of blood banking and transfusion medicine through the accreditation of the American Association of Blood Banks. The Transfusion Service is operated by the Institute for Transfusion Medicine, the parent company of Central Blood Bank. It is licensed by the State of Pennsylvania and by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The UPMC Passavant Transfusion Service operates seven days a week, 24-hours a day to ensure product and service availability for our patients. For more information, contact us at 412-367-6680 or via e-mail at baronmc@ph.upmc.edu.
Testing
Our Transfusion Service performs blood typing, antibody screening, and cross-matching to ensure that blood and blood products are ready and available for patients when needed during an emergency or for scheduled surgery. The department also performs prenatal testing, antibody identification, antibody titrations, and direct coombs testing.
Each year, more than 13,000 units of blood or blood products are issued to patients requiring transfusions.
Community Blood Supply
All donor blood transfused by our Transfusion Services is received from Central Blood Bank of Pittsburgh. The community blood supply is considered a safe, reliable source of blood products.
Volunteer donors are healthy, caring people who wish to give blood to help ill and injured patients. Every donor is screened for health risks that may result in donor deferral. Each unit of blood is tested for transmissible diseases including viruses, using the most sensitive, sophisticated tests available. You can feel confident that the multi-step process to screen and test donations ensures the safety of the local blood supply.
Autologous Donations
If you have elective surgery scheduled, and are medically eligible, you may be able to give your own blood for later use. Giving blood for your own use is called "autologous" donation. Because giving your own blood is the only way to ensure compatibility and avoid any risk of viral exposure, autologous donation is the safest transfusion option.
How you can donate:
Directed Donations
If you are not able to make autologous donations, you may be interested in the directed donations program that allows you to receive blood from family members and friends. You may feel more comfortable selecting your own donors even though there is no medical evidence that shows directed blood donations to be safer than donations from the community blood supply.
How to arrange for directed donations:
Frequently Asked Questions
- How safe is the blood supply in this area?
The risk for HIV and hepatitis infection in the Pittsburgh area is approximately one-half less than published national statistics. This is due to the relatively stable and older donor population and the low prevalence of viral infection in this area.
- What steps are taken to ensure that the blood patients receive is safe?
There are many safeguards on our national blood supply to ensure safe blood for patients. First, blood is donated by volunteer donors. These donors must answer questions about their health and risk factors for disease, and only a person with a clean bill of health can give blood. Blood then goes through extensive testing. In addition to tests for blood type, 10 separate screening tests are performed for evidence of infection with hepatitis, AIDS, HTLV virus, West Nile virus, and syphilis. Finally, a carefully identified blood sample from the patient is tested against the donor blood, a process called crossmatch.
- Do I have choices other than receiving blood from the community blood supply?
Yes, you may be able to donate blood for yourself (autologous) or have friends/family members donate blood specifically for your use (directed donations).
- What can I do to make sure that a safe supply of blood will be available in my community, should I, or my family or friends, need it?
It is very important that healthy Americans donate blood. This will guarantee an adequate and safe supply for any patient in need. Millions of lives are saved every year because of the availability of donated blood.
- How soon before surgery can I come in and have a blood specimen drawn for use by the Blood Bank?
If you have not been transfused or pregnant in the previous 3 months, you may come in up to 28 days prior to your surgery date to have your blood sample drawn. Otherwise, your sample must be drawn within 72 hours of surgery.