The treating doctor is responsible for referring a patient for autologous blood collection. Use a standard Blood Service request form.
For appropriate documentation, please call 13 14 95 and ask to speak to a Blood Service Medical Officer.
Not all State or Territory governments provide funding for autologous blood collection so a charge may apply for autologous collections in some areas.
We recommended that autologous collections outside the Blood Service to follow the ANZSBT Guidelines for Autologous Blood Collection.
Autologous blood collections are only recommended where there is a reasonable expectation that blood will be required for the condition or procedure.
Requests from medical practitioners should relate to the Maximum Blood Order Schedule (MBOS) as a guide for blood usage requirements during surgery.
The indications for transfusion of autologous blood should be the same as for homologous blood.
The Clinical Practice Guidelines on Appropriate Use of Blood Components is a useful reference.
Patient suitability for autologous collections is based on the ability to tolerate several venesections taken over a short period of time, age, adequate venous access, and reliable dates for elective surgery.
In general, we will arrange blood collection between 5 and 35 days in advance of the anticipated date of surgery or transfusion.
The final decision on acceptance of the patient into the program rests with the Blood Service.
Autologous collections are made under the safety guidelines of the Blood Service.
Collection of blood from patients who fall outside the safety standards set for autologous collections may only be carried out if appropriate medical cover is available.
Autologous blood collections are subject to the same testing criteria as homologous collections within the Blood Service.
All autologous blood is tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV 1/2, HTLV 1/2 and syphilis.
Should a test on a collection fail initial screening, the patient and referring doctor will be notified and further collections suspended pending the results of further testing.
Collections confirmed as positive for a transfusion-transmissible infection are discarded and no further collections undertaken.
In order to protect the safety of the homologous system, autologous blood which is not transfused to the patient cannot be used for any other patient.
Autologous blood collection is generally subject to the same collection, storage and processing requirements as general homologous blood collection.
