What are the minimum pretransfusion testing requirements for autologous donations collected and transfused at the same facility?

For autologous donations collected and transfused at the same facility, the minimum pretransfusion testing requirement is to perform ABO and Rh typing only. This is primarily because autologous transfusions involve blood collected from the patient themselves, significantly reducing the risk of transfusion reactions that are typically associated with allogenic donations.

The rationale behind this requirement is that since the blood has been collected from the same individual, the compatibility is largely assured in terms of:

1. ABO and Rh Compatibility: The blood type of the donor and recipient is the same in autologous transfusions, which minimizes the risk of hemolytic reactions that can arise when there is a mismatch between donor and recipient blood types.

2. Minimization of Testing Requirements: Given that there is a lower risk of transfusion-related complications due to the autologous nature of the donation, lower testing requirements are appropriate. Performing only ABO and Rh typing simplifies the process and reduces the workload on blood bank personnel.

While an antibody screen or crossmatch can enhance safety in allogenic transfusions by identifying unexpected antibodies, they are typically not necessary for autologous donations when collected and transfused at the same location due to the inherent compatibility between the donor and recipient.