Overview
The Section of Transfusion Medicine comprises the blood bank, the pre-transfusion and pre-natal testing laboratory, and the cellular therapy processing laboratory. It is one of the busiest transfusion services in the country, providing support for complex medical and surgical patients, including sickle cell anemia, leukemia and lymphoma, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, cardiovascular surgery and organ transplantation. In addition, the Section serves as a reference laboratory for regional hospitals in the Cleveland Clinic Health System. Laboratory services are available 24/7, and a transfusion medicine staff physician is always available for consultation.
In 2018, the Section of Transfusion Medicine issued approximately 45,000 units of red blood cells, 15,000 units of plasma and 15,000 doses of platelets; performed over 100,000 type and screen procedures, and nearly 5000 antibody identifications; and processed more than 400 hematopoietic progenitor cell collections.
