What is a directed blood donation?
Parents sometimes ask about giving their own blood for their child to use. This is called a directed blood donation. A directed blood donation happens when someone gives blood for one specific person to use, most often a member of the family.
Canadian Blood Services policy on directed blood donations
Canadian Blood Services (CBS) policy on directed blood donations is that only parents or legal guardians can give their blood for their minor child to use. No other family member can give blood for a child.
Directed blood donations may be requested in circumstances where only a parent or legal guardian has a blood type that is a match for their child. Otherwise directed blood donations are discouraged as they offer no safety benefit.
Is directed blood donation safer than volunteer blood donation?
There is no evidence that directed blood donations are safer than donations from CBS's volunteer donor program. The volunteer donor program is what provides CBS with its regular blood supply. In fact, directed donation may be associated with an increased risk to the patient which includes the following:
- Blood from a family member can be associated with an immune reaction called graft versus host disease (GvHD). GvHD happens when the donor's (the parent or guardian's) white blood cells attack the child's tissues. Although this is a rare disease, it almost always causes death when it happens. All blood donated by parents must be treated with radiation (irradiated) to help prevent GvHD.
- With irradiation of the blood units donated, the product quality and shelf-life are reduced.
- Exposure to family members’ blood can also increase the risk of transfusion-related acute lung injury and difficulty finding stem cell or organ donors if needed in the future.
It is CBS’ view that although providing a directed blood donation may be helpful to the emotional state of family members, the risks associated with directed donation are higher for the patient.
Donating blood for your child
You may give blood for your child's use ONLY if your child is having elective surgery (surgery that is not an emergency) AND your child is very likely to need blood.
You may also give blood for your child's use if your child needs the blood because of a medical problem that is not an emergency.
How you will know if you can give blood for your child
You can give blood for your child if your blood type matches your child's blood type AND your blood is free of infection.
You may not donate for your child if you have any medical condition that would exclude you as a blood donor, such as a previous history of one of the following:
- malaria, or recent travel to a country where malaria is often or always present (endemic)
- hepatitis
- cancer
- heart disease
You must fulfill all volunteer donor criteria, as posted on the CBS website: https://www.blood.ca/en/blood/am-i-eligible-donate-blood
You and your child must be tested to find out whether your blood types match. If your blood type does not match your child's, you cannot give blood for your child.
If your blood type does match your child's, your child's doctor will complete and sign a CBS directed blood donation request form. Only your child's doctor can ask the CBS to let you give blood for your child.
Where you will give blood
When CBS gets the signed request form from your child's doctor, someone from CBS will call you. That person will tell you when and where to go to donate blood for your child.
At the CBS blood donor clinic, you will go through the same process that a regular blood donor does. You will be asked questions about your health and your blood will be tested for infections, including the virus that causes AIDS. Your blood will only be used for your child if your blood shows no signs of infection.
Where donated blood is stored
Your donated blood will be stored at CBS until all the tests are done. Testing usually takes two or three days. If all the tests are normal, your blood will be sent to the hospital's Blood Transfusion Lab and stored for up to 42 days (six weeks). If your blood is not used within 42 days, it will be discarded. Red blood cells for transfusion are only good for 42 days after collection.
What happens if you have not given enough blood?
If your child needs more blood than you have given, your child will get blood from CBS's regular blood supply. If needed, your child may also get platelets and/or plasma protein products (such as albumin and clotting-factor concentrates) from CBS. You cannot get these products from a directed blood donation.
At SickKids
SickKids policy about directed blood donations is like CBS policy. That means that only parents and legal guardians of minor children can give blood for their child.
Directed donation requests are appropriate for medical reasons where only a parent or legal guardian has a blood type that is a match for their child. Routine requests are discouraged as they offer no safety benefit and have higher associated risks.
SickKids has a Patient Blood Management Program: Patients scheduled for elective surgery are counselled about diet and oral iron supplementation. This is done to improve their hemoglobin levels before surgery and decrease their chance of needing a blood transfusion during surgery. If you want to know more about the SickKids Patient Blood Management Program, please call the Patient Blood Management Coordinator at 416-813-6264.