Biomaterial Database

Current issues in transfusion medicine in Norway. 2005

O Flesland, and J Seghatchian

Blood Bank, Asker and Baerum Hospital and Institute of Immunology, Rikshospitalet University Hospital, Postboks 83, NO-1309 Rud, Norway. oyestein.flesland@sabhf.no

Important current issues in transfusion medicine in Norway are discussed. Current patient legislation specifically defines blood donors as patients, and blood and blood products are defined as drugs. Donor selection is controversial, especially deferral of all persons born in, or having lived for more than one year in areas with high prevalence of infections that are transmitted by blood. The threshold for becoming a blood donor is high, but registered donors donate frequently, e.g. 2,4 whole blood donations per year on average. Some blood banks have specialized in multicomponent aphereis technology, in particular collection of two units of red cells.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009664	Norway	A country located in northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden. The capital is Oslo.	Kingdom of Norway
D012011	Red Cross	International collective of humanitarian organizations led by volunteers and guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Movement, to provide relief to victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.	American Red Cross,International Committee of the Red Cross,International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement,Magen David Adom,Red Crescent
D001771	Blood Banks	Centers for collecting, characterizing and storing blood or plasma.	Bank, Blood,Banks, Blood,Blood Bank
D001781	Blood Component Removal	Any procedure in which blood is withdrawn from a donor, a portion is separated and retained, at the same time the remainder is returned to the donor.	Apheresis,Pheresis,Aphereses,Blood Component Removals,Phereses,Removal, Blood Component
D001782	Blood Donors	Individuals supplying blood or blood components for transfer to histocompatible recipients.	Blood Donor,Donor, Blood,Donors, Blood
D001803	Blood Transfusion	The introduction of whole blood or blood component directly into the blood stream. (Dorland, 27th ed)	Blood Transfusions,Transfusion, Blood,Transfusions, Blood
D004912	Erythrocytes	Red blood cells. Mature erythrocytes are non-nucleated, biconcave disks containing HEMOGLOBIN whose function is to transport OXYGEN.	Blood Cells, Red,Blood Corpuscles, Red,Red Blood Cells,Red Blood Corpuscles,Blood Cell, Red,Blood Corpuscle, Red,Erythrocyte,Red Blood Cell,Red Blood Corpuscle
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D046148	Donor Selection	The procedure established to evaluate the health status and risk factors of the potential DONORS of biological materials. Donors are selected based on the principles that their health will not be compromised in the process, and the donated materials, such as TISSUES or organs, are safe for reuse in the recipients.	Donor Screening,Donor Exclusion,Tissue and Organ Selection,Donor Exclusions,Donor Screenings,Selection, Donor