donating blood to yourself

[danebuxbaum]

It was suggested by my Doctor's assistant that I might want to consider giving a unit of my own blood in case I needed it AFTER surgery. According to him, about 25% of Dr. Peter Brooks' patients have internal bleeding after surgery. Dr. Brooks impressed me more than any other of the interviewed surgeons on this website and he has now done over 600 BHRs so I was a bit surprised to hear this.
Does anyone out there have anything to say about this, any specific experience with post op bleeding and how it was dealt with?

[jwtoto]

Hi,

I was told that I lost about 150 cc. of blood during the surgery. Also, you might want to ask about how much it costs to do the blood donation. Blood loss is pretty minimal.

         Jerry

[resurface]

I just had surgery on May 6th, and I did not provide my blood in advance nor did I need any during surgery.  I also have had no bleeding post op. Just had my bandages removed and all clear.  Swelling going down.  Just my experience...

[moe]

I asked about this and was told that it was rare to need blood, so I did not do it or need it. I was also told that if I did it and did not use the blood it would cost $ to dispose of it as medical waste.

[Margie]

I had the choice if I wanted to donate blood. I decided better to be on the safe side so I did donate 2 units. It cost me $85.00 a unit to collect it and store it for the surgery. I ended up not needing it during the surgery, but it was given back to me the night after. I had no bleeding that I know of, but they give it back no matter what. My recovery was fast and I was able to leave in the morning a day early. I don't know if it really helped, but I know it didn't hurt. I personally would do it again.
Margie

[fenceman]

Dr. Brooks did my BHR on 8/16/08 and I did not have any problems with bleeding.  I did have a unit of blood drawn as recommended by his assistant, Phil.  I had it drawn at the local Red Cross.

I was very happy with the work done by Dr Brooks.  My alignment looked perfect on all the x-rays. 
Bill

[PaulUK]

I had the op in the UK and the nurse simply poured about 400ml back into me from my wound drain. That is, she transferred it to a drip bag and it fed in through my wrist. Apparently you can only do this in the first few hours of wound draining.

[doris]

I had a RBH by Dr Brooks on 04/12/10 and it was recommended that I donate blood in the event I needed it.  I do nopt do well with blood, however, I felt I would rather be safe than sorry and would rather get my own blood if I needed it.  So - I donated - didn't need it - no harm done.  Dr. Brooks is one of the best in the business.  He is meticulous and has excellent outcomes.  I would follow any recommendation he makes!

[stephen]

I donated my own blood-3 units worth within three weeks of my surgery. Bad idea. I was low when I went in for my procedure and felt it. Then in recovery they were suppose to put some back, but no one knew how to operate the pump so I didn't get any of it put back in. I was a little pissed when I saw my blood "rotting" in the pump and no needle attached to me.

When I was told to get up and walk, my BP dropped to 60/20 and I was white as a sheet. All day my BP fluctuated and continued for a few days. It never got that low again but my body couldn't regulate it too well. I was up then down then up....a real fun roller coaster ride!

[Lopsided]

I donated my own blood-3 units worth within three weeks of my surgery. Bad idea. I was low when I went in for my procedure and felt it. Then in recovery they were suppose to put some back, but no one knew how to operate the pump so I didn't get any of it put back in. I was a little pissed when I saw my blood "rotting" in the pump and no needle attached to me.

When I was told to get up and walk, my BP dropped to 60/20 and I was white as a sheet. All day my BP fluctuated and continued for a few days. It never got that low again but my body couldn't regulate it too well. I was up then down then up....a real fun roller coaster ride!

I hope all other aspects of your operation went better than this.

[stephen]

My surgery went real well and I'm healing great. 12 weeks out and can tie my own shoe, stretching a lot, and hammering my new hip into submission. I can weight train with light weight which helps out a lot.

[ginnie]

I donated .. and had the same problem with my blood pressure .. it was 89/50 .. low .. I felt horrible ,, then they gave it back to me which brought my blood pressure up. so my question is ,, did my body not have enough time to replace the donation and the added loss of surgery made it drop ? or was my blood pressure low because of shock ? I dont know .. but I do know that this next doctor is not recommending blood donation ,, so I wonder now which is best ?

[limpy]

I was never given the option to donate blood to myself ahead of time. I ended up needing two units and was told that this is very common with this surgery. Wish someone had told me....

[kwarendorf]

I made an "autologous" donation prior to surgery. I think it cast about $100, most of which was covered. I didn't need it but figured if I did I'd rather have my own

[susannatuttapanna]

I'm getting ready to make an "autologous" donation prior to my surgery. It costs just under $350 but HealthNet has indicated most of it will be refunded to me. I, too, also figure I'd rather have my own blood than take chances on blood from the blood bank.

[Big Bill]

Big Bill here... I donated blood for my surgery,which is a wondeful idea, and although I did not lose much, upon my request, I was given it back anyway ! I would like to believe it helped...sure did not hurt me to get it back  !

 Big Bill C.A.S.H   

[susannatuttapanna]

Just found out that it will cost close to $455 to donate blood to myself, but all but $60 (admin fee) are reimburseable through HealthNet.