Blood transfusion service

What is a blood transfusion?

A blood transfusion is a procedure where a patient receives donated blood, usually through an intravenous line. 

It’s a very common procedure that’s given to patients to treat a wide range of disorders and diseases. For example, in cases of anaemia a transfusion is used to treat low levels of red blood cells where a patient has failed to respond to other treatments.

Blood transfusions are used in a number of everyday and emergency medical situations, such as to replace blood after surgery or to a patient who has lost blood after giving birth to a baby.

We provide a blood transfusion service at Barnet, Chase Farm and the Royal Free hospitals.

Specialist blood transfusions: treating blood disorders at Barnet, Chase Farm and the Royal Free hospitals

Our specialist blood transfusion service at the Royal Free Hospital works together with the haematology team to provide expert treatment to patients with a range of blood disorders: 

  • Haemophilia: replacing blood lost due to blood disorders like Haemophilia, which can prolong bleeding and blood loss.
  • Leukeamia: replenishing red blood cells and other healthy blood components that are depleted by cancerous conditions that affect the blood and bone marrow, like Leukeamia.
  • Lymphoma and myeloma: providing pioneering treatments like stem cell transplants which are based on the transfusion of blood where we attempt to replace a patient’s damaged or diseased stem cells.