The Blood Bank or Transfusion Service Lab at The George Washington University Hospital provides advanced blood transfusion support for patients in the hospital and at outpatient clinics. Staffed by certified technologists, the lab provides a safe and rapidly available blood supply to meet the needs of patients. The lab operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with supervision by specially trained medical technologists and by physicians with extensive experience in blood transfusion therapy. The lab uses advanced technical methods for compatibility testing, and the blood supply is provided only by donor centers that are fully licensed by the Food and Drug Administration.

The blood supply in the United States is subjected to such extensive testing that it is currently regarded as the safest blood transfusion system in the world. Some patients may, however, wish to participate in an autologous blood program, in which they donate their own blood days or weeks before a scheduled surgery. Then at the time of their surgical procedure, they can be transfused with their own blood, thus avoiding many, but not all, risks associated with transfusion.

The Transfusion Service Lab has made arrangements with FDA-licensed blood centers in the region to enable our patients to participate in such autologous blood programs. Patients who wish to have their own ("autologous") blood available for a scheduled surgery should discuss their interest with their physicians, who can counsel them as to whether they would be medically able to donate for themselves. If the patient and physician decide that autologous donations would be appropriate, the patient should contact the Transfusion Service Lab at (202) 715-4398 to obtain the details on how to arrange such donations. It is very important that patients contact the Lab before making any arrangements with any donor facility or hospital to schedule their donations.

Sometimes a patient cannot donate blood for himself/herself and would prefer to have a family member or a close friend donate blood specifically for his/her use. The Transfusion Service Lab can help patients arrange these "directed" or "designated" donations. Again, the patient should discuss this with his/her physician, who must authorize such donations, and then call the Transfusion Service Lab at (202) 715-4398 for information and assistance.