Most Commonly Googled Questions About Blood Donation — Answered by the Experts, Part 5

Most Commonly Googled Questions About Blood Donation — Answered by the Experts, Part 5

Most Commonly Googled Questions About Blood Donation — Answered by the Experts, Part 5

can blood transfusion affect dna test

Do blood transfusions cause fatigue? / Do blood transfusions make you tired?

No — in fact, the transfusion of blood tends to give patients energy! A great example of this comes from one of our blogs about donor Dr. Brad Heart and his recipient mother, Frances Heart. In the blog, Brad said, “Every six weeks, my mom receives a blood transfusion, and it’s truly night and day. You can tell she feels run down toward the end of her six weeks, but, within an hour of getting the next transfusion, she’s full of energy!”

Do blood transfusions change your DNA?

No, receiving a donation does not alter the patient’s DNA. Interestingly, though, in most people, it is possible to detect a very small amount of the donor’s DNA in the recipient’s blood for a few days after the transfusion. However, it tends not to remain in the recipient’s system long and, on genetic tests, is easy to identify as foreign due to its minuscule presence.

Do blood transfusions hurt?

The feeling a patient experiences when getting a transfusion is like what you feel when you donate: typically, just a pinch when the needle is going in and when it’s going out.

Do blood transfusions weaken the immune system?

While transfusions can impact the immune system, the way in which (and how often) they affect individual patients is not fully understood, which is why it’s important to talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of transfusion. For example, while in some cases it should mean you need to be more careful not to catch a cold, in other instances, transfusions can be really beneficial to a patient; for example, prior transfusions correlate to decreased rates of organ transplant rejection.

Do blood transfusions help anemia?

Yes! The transfusion of healthy red cells help counteract the effects of anemia. And, in fact, those with sickle cell anemia (when their red cells are abnormally shaped) often depend on transfusions their entire lives.

Do blood transfusions help COVID?

Near the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 convalescent plasma was given emergency use authorization to be collected and transfused to patients. The idea is that plasma from individuals who recently recovered from COVID-19 has antibodies to the virus, which have the potential, when transfused to someone currently battling COVID-19, to help the recipient’s body fight the virus. While CCP is still being studied, research has shown that CCP likely does help COVID-19 recovery in limited settings, namely in immunosuppressed patients (meaning they have difficulty producing enough of their own antibodies) early in disease course.

Do blood transfusions help leukemia?

Yes, transfusions are often critical for individuals with leukemia to help them replace the cancerous (and non-cancerous) blood cells that are being destroyed through chemotherapy.

Do blood transfusions make you feel better?

Absolutely. Transfusions are given to help patients, and while we can all think of times when medical treatments can do good overall but feel awful in the short run, transfusions tend to have an immediate positive effect on those who receive them. Our blog is filled with countless stories of individuals who report feeling full of life after their transfusions.

This post was last modified on Tháng mười một 28, 2024 6:03 chiều