Fast facts on Blood Transfusion
Approximately every minute a person in Canada needs a blood transfusion.
The 12.5 million residents of Ontario use one half of the total Canadian budget for blood and blood products amounting to approximately 450 million dollars.
One donor’s gift of a unit of whole blood can be split into three components: red blood cells, platelets and plasma The components can be used to treat three different patients.
To learn more about blood components, read our patient pamphlet.
Every patient who needs a blood transfusion should speak to their doctor about it and be asked to give their consent before they are transfused.
Blood donation in Canada is voluntary, donors are not paid. Before they can donate, potential blood donors must answer questions about their general health and travel history. Donated blood is screened for infections and must be found negative for those that can be spread through transfused blood...Learn more
Patients having major surgical procedures may be able to donate and store their own blood to be used during surgery. This is called autologous blood donation.
Many health care facilities where major surgery is performed have Blood Conservation Programs. Together with the patient, a health care professional will determine the best way to reduce the likelihood that a patient may need a transfusion of volunteer donor blood during their surgery. Interventions may include any of the following, used alone or in combination:
To learn more please read our patient pamphlet or visit the ONTRaC section of this website.
Reactions to a blood transfusion occur in 0.5-3% of transfusion recipients…learn more
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