We provide allocated and directed donation services for specific patient requirements and medical indications.
Allocated and directed donations collected outside the Blood Service should follow appropriate guidelines and comply with legislation.
This is an allogeneic donation collected for a specified patient from a selected anonymous volunteer donor.
We select the donor for a specific medical indication, such as:
Phenotyped red cells for patients with rare red cell phenotypes or multiple red cell antibodies
HLA compatible platelets for management or prevention of platelet refractoriness
Platelets typed for specific platelet antigens for management of neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia or post-transfusion purpura
This is a donation collected for a specified patient from a selected donor who is known to the patient.
This may occur when either the potential recipient has requested the donation from a specific donor or an individual requests making a donation for a specific recipient (eg, parent to child).
Except in special circumstances, we strongly recommend against directed donations because these donations have been shown to be less safe than blood collected from voluntary, non-remunerated donors.
We recognise that some patients prefer to select a blood donor who is known to them. Where there is no alternative, we try to accommodate this preference while maintaining a level of safety comparable to that of Australia’s community blood supply—one of the safest in the world.
A directed donor must meet the Blood Service’s donor selection criteria. All donations are subject to the same safety precautions and testing criteria as volunteer anonymous donations.
If a directed donation is unsuitable for any reason, the referring doctor will be notified. However, medical information concerning the donor cannot be released to the referring doctor or patient without the express permission of the donor.
A directed donation not used for the intended recipient cannot be transferred to the community blood supply, to protect the safety of the homologous system.
A request form should be completed, and include a signed request from the patient and a referral from the treating clinician. Read the Blood Service requirements for directed donations.
For further information, please call 13 14 95 and ask to speak to a Blood Service Medical Officer.
