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Is autologous donation - the practice of using blood you've donated for yourself - worth doing? The whole business of blood transfusion in the era of AIDS, Hepatitis C and Mad Cow Disease has become fraught. Which in turn has driven a trend for people undergoing certain kinds of planned surgery, like a hip replacement, to donate two or three units of their own blood ahead of time. This means that if they need a transfusion, it can be autologous (from themselves). But findings from a 12-month study in Melbourne suggest that autologous donation is not necessarily worth doing. The results showed that about a quarter of the blood collected was wasted. And - here's the interesting statistic - if you gave your own blood, you were more likely to be transfused. Findings from overseas research suggest that isn't because the surgeon is more relaxed about transfusion or more careless during the operation. It's because if you've donated your own blood, you're more likely to be anaemic and actually need it back again. So given that the chances of a transfusion with a good surgeon are low, and that the blood supply is by and large safe, donating your own blood might well be a waste of time and money.
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