Please tell me about the blood donation process. In addition to recruiting only volunteer donors, the American Red Cross provides information about high-risk behaviors associated with transmissible diseases, conducts a rigorous behavioral and health history screening interview of all donors prior to donation and conducts up to 12 tests for infectious diseases, including AIDS, hepatitis, syphilis and leukemia.
Leukocytes are white blood cells, one of the types of cells in human blood.
Their function is to help fight off foreign substances such as bacteria, viruses and abnormal cells in an effort to avoid disease. When leukocytes are transfused to another person, however, they do not provide any benefit to the recipient. In addition, leukocytes can cause the formation of antibodies that make future transfusions less likely to be effective and more likely to cause a reaction. Back to Top Leukoreduction is the removal of contaminating white blood cells from blood products. White blood cells are known to cause transfusion reactions and removing contaminated leukocytes provides a purer, and hence, safer product.