Blood transfusion

[econberkeley]

Mym mom has an anemia. She is coming to US after having a blood transfusion. She will need one more transfusion before going back since flying with low levels is dangerous. Can my wife donate blood to my mother to save on cost? Is that a common practice? How much does it usually cost to have blood transfusion?

[johnny847]

I have no idea how much it costs, and whether the regulations will allow this, but even before that:

Are your mother's and wife's blood types even compatible?

[econberkeley]

Yes it is compatible.

[former player]

It might not save on cost, as taking blood from your wife will be a medical procedure in itself - you would be buying two medical procedures instead of one.

Your first course of action is to ring round local clinics to find out whether they would do a blood transfusion for your MIL and what they charge, including what the blood costs.  Then use your negotiating skills on them.

The alternative is for your MIL to come for a shorter period so that she doesn't need the transfusion.

[frugaldrummer]

It won't save on cost, but you can do a "directed donation" which specifies that your wife's blood goes to her. If they truly are compatible (there can be more than ABO blood type involved) it can provide her with low risk blood (assuming your wife doesn't have any chronic infections or history of high risk travel or behaviors). This is likely to cost more than a regular transfusion because of the special handling required.

[Spork]

You can generally "donate for" someone even if you are totally incompatible blood types.  The blood doesn't actually go to the patient, but is sort of an accounting trade off.  In other words: mom gets credit for the cost of the unit of blood (but probably not the cost of the lab work for the crossmatch).

I spent my youth working in a blood bank and this was extremely common practice.  If someone had an accident and lost a lot of blood, a large group of friends would show up and offset the cost.

[more4less]

You can get blood transfusion kit under $100. Just saying.

[Miss Prim]

Hello.  Former blood banker here.  All blood donations in the US are voluntary, not paid.  The charge for blood is for the processing and testing that has to be done on it.  You can do a directed donation, but it does take some time because is has to be processed the same as any unit of blood and must be compatible with the recipient.  This actually probably costs more money than just a random donor unit.  And do it yourself transfusion kit?  Never heard of it and you can seriously die from receiving blood that is not compatible!  If your mom is from another country, you will be facing a pretty large bill for this.  First thing for you to do is visit a Dr. in your area and get the ball rolling.                                 Miss Prim

[Abe]

How severe is her anemia? That in itself is not a contraindication to flying, unless it is causing symptoms. If that is the case, a directed donation as explained above is the best way to proceed. It will not save on cost as explained above.