On the day of the Pre-admission visit, you will have a blood test done. This is a simple procedure most people are familiar with. In this process, a number of vials of blood are drawn through a needle that has been placed into a vein. The blood is then sent to the lab to be tested. This can give your health care team a clear picture on the state of your health and specifics they may need to be aware of before surgery. This may also tell them if a transfusion is necessary to successfully complete the patient’s operation or recovery. Transfusions may be deemed necessary by the type of surgery you may have.

The doctor will determine whether you need blood or blood products to complete your operation. The Canadian Red Cross provides all the blood the hospital uses. This blood is donated by volunteer human donors and collected by the Blood Clinic at clinics they set up around the country. Once collected, the blood is tested in two ways before it is used. Firstly it is tested for infectious diseases such as: syphilis, hepatitis B and C, anti HIV 1 and 2 (viruses that cause AIDS) and HTLV-1. Any tainted blood is disposed of. The Canadian Red Cross Society routinely tests all donor blood for the antibodies to HIV. Even though this test has greatly reduced the risk of transfusion associated AIDS, there is a slight possibility that the virus may not be detected by the test. The second test the Canadian Red Cross does on the donated blood is to test its compatibility. There are a number of different blood types; the blood from the Red Cross will be matched to the patient’s type. The safest blood is your own. Your own blood may or may not be donated depending on your condition. There are a number of risks to blood transfusion, talk to your doctor and visit the Canadian Red Cross Web site for more information.

Home ~ About UHN ~ Preparing For Your Stay ~ Blood Work & Other Test ~ Anaesthesia ~ Surgery ~ After Your Surgery ~ Pain Management ~ Nursing ~ Contact Us