Later
[object Object] 13
Later
Nia is 13
Nia gets medical tests before her first transfusion.
You will get blood tests.
Some people are not able to get this treatment. Your doctor can tell you if chronic transfusion therapy is an option for you.
The blood tests help your doctor:
- Decide how much blood (or red blood cells) you need to get.
- Lower your risk of problems (side effects) from transfusions.
- Check if the transfusions are working.
This treatment is best for:
- People who have had a stroke.
- People with a high chance of having a stroke.
- People with pain that is not helped by taking Hydroxyurea or other medications.
- People who have acute chest syndrome many times and don’t get better with medications easily.
- People who have painful erections that do not get better with medicine.
It is not a good choice for:
- People who have had problems from blood transfusions before.
Your doctor needs to know some things about your blood before you begin chronic transfusion therapy.
They need to know:
- Your red blood cell type (blood group or phenotype). This is because you need to receive new blood from a donor that is the same type (blood group or phenotype). The “type” describes what markers (antigens) there are on the surface of your red blood cells.
- If you have antibodies to other types of red blood cells that might be in the blood from a donor.
- Your total hemoglobin and the number of healthy red blood cells (Hemoglobin A, or HbA) in your blood.
- The number of sickle cells (Hemoglobin S, or HbS) in your blood.
- The number of reticulocytes (immature red blood cells) in your blood.
- A complete blood count, which is a test that tells your doctor a lot of other information about your red blood cells and white blood cells.