Available Round the Clock
Modern transfusion medicine practises component therapy — giving patients only what they need rather than whole blood. KG Hospital's Blood center separates every donated unit into components, maximising the benefit of each donation.
Packed Red Blood Cells (PRBC)
The workhorse of transfusion — oxygen-carrying red cells for anaemia, surgical blood loss, and trauma haemorrhage.
Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP)
It contain all coagulation factors. Used for DIC, massive transfusion, warfarin reversal, liver failure, trauma hemorrhage and TTP.
Platelet Concentrate (RDP / SDP)
Random Donor Platelets (RDP) and Single Donor Platelets (SDP via apheresis) for thrombocytopenia, chemotherapy, and dengue.
Cryoprecipitate (Cryo)
It contain in fibrinogen, Factor VIII, von Willebrand factor, and Factor XIII. Essential for haemophilia A, von Willebrand disease, and DIC with fibrinogen depletion.
Granulocyte Concentrate
For life-threatening bacterial or fungal infections in severely neutropenic patients who fail to respond to antibiotics and antifungals.
Whole Blood
Indicated for massive haemorrhage and exchange transfusion where simultaneous red cell and volume replacement is required.
Apheresis is an automated process that draws blood from a donor, extracts a specific component — example platelets — and returns the remaining blood constitute to the donor. Advantage of a single apheresis procedure yields a Single Donor Platelet (SDP) unit equivalent to 4–6 Random Donor Platelet units, from a single screened donor.
SDP has critical advantages over RDP: higher platelet count per transfusion, significantly lower risk of alloimmunisation (the patient's immune system developing antibodies that make future transfusions ineffective), and reduced exposure to multiple donors.
A good option in elective cases with a platelet count less than 50,000. SDP is the standard of care for oncology patients, Bone marrow transplant recipients, and Patients with platelet refractoriness. KG Hospital's Blood Center runs apheresis sessions daily, with an appointment system for both donors and patients.
- Plasma exchange (TPE) — TTP, Guillain-Barré syndrome, myasthenia gravis, ANCA vasculitis, anti-GBM disease, LDL apheresis for familial hypercholesterolemia, use in ABO-incompatible kidney transplant, antibody-mediated rejection.
- Red cell exchange — sickle cell disease with acute chest syndrome or stroke
- Leucapheresis — hyperleukocytosis in acute leukaemia (blast count reduction)
- Photopheresis — GVHD, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma referral pathway
Blood components contain WBC can cause serious complications in immunocompromised patients. Transfusion-Associated Graft vs Host Disease (TA-GvHD) — where transfused donor T-lymphocytes attack the recipient's tissues — is almost universally fatal but entirely preventable by irradiating blood components to inactivate donor lymphocytes.
Direct donation avoided in our centre. Irradiated blood is mandatory for bone marrow transplant recipients, patients on purine analogue therapy (fludarabine, cladribine), neonatal exchange transfusion, directed donations from blood relatives, and congenital immunodeficiency states. KG Hospital's Blood centre has a dedicated blood irradiator.
Leucodepleted blood — Leukofilter to remove white blood cells — reduces febrile non-haemolytic transfusion reactions, CMV transmission, HLA alloimmunisation, and platelet refractoriness. Used routinely in oncology and planned for all repeated transfusion patients.
Autologous transfusion — using the patient's own blood — eliminates the risks of transfusion-transmitted infections, immunological reactions, and alloimmunisation. It is the safest form of transfusion and is actively promoted at KG Hospital for all suitable elective surgical patients.
Pre-operative autologous deposit (PAD): 1–3 units of the patient's blood are collected in the 35-42 days before elective surgery and stored for use during that specific operation. Collection ideally 72 hour before Surgery.
Intraoperative cell salvage (ICS): Blood lost during major major surgery (cardiac, orthopaedic, vascular) is collected, washed, and re-transfused in real time using a cell saver machine — dramatically reducing allogeneic transfusion requirements.
Neonates — especially premature infants — require the most carefully matched, prepared, and monitored transfusions in all of transfusion medicine. KG Hospital Blood Centre works closely with the NICU team to supply age-appropriate, within 1 day old-available blood components for premature and critically ill newborns.
Exchange transfusion is performed for severe haemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) due to ABO or Rh incompatibility and other clinical Significant Antibody (kell, kidd, Duffy)., and for severe unconjugated hyperbilirubinaemia threatening bilirubin encephalopathy (kernicterus). The procedure replaces the baby's blood incrementally with matched, irradiated, CMV-negative whole blood or reconstituted blood.
Every unit of blood collected at KG Hospital Blood Centre undergoes a mandatory Transfusion Transmitted Infection Screening before any component is issued. No unit is released until all tests are reported negative. This is a statutory requirement under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and is rigorously enforced through our quality management system.
A transfusion of incompatible blood can be rapidly fatal. Pre-transfusion testing — blood grouping, antibody screening, and cross-matching — is the critical safety step that ensures every unit of blood is compatible with the patient who will receive it. KG Hospital's Blood centre performs full pre-transfusion testing on every patient, every time, with zero shortcuts.
For patients with irregular antibodies (previous transfusions, pregnancies, haematological conditions), extended red cell phenotyping identifies the patient's full antigen profile so that antigen-negative, cross-match compatible units are selected.
& What to Expect
Donating blood is safe, simple, and takes less than 30 minutes. The entire volume of a whole blood donation (450 ml) is replaced by the body within 24–48 hours. Your haemoglobin is checked before every donation.
| Criteria | Whole Blood | Platelet Apheresis |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 18–65 years, for repeated donor 18-60- First time done | 18–60 years |
| Weight | 350ml bag -> >45 kg / 450ml bag -> >55 kg | Minimum 50 kg |
| Haemoglobin | ≥ 12.5 g/dL (F) / 13.0 g/dL (M) | ≥ 12.5 g/dL · Platelets > 150,000/µL |
| Donation interval | Every 90 days (3 months) | Every 48 hours (max 24× per year) |
| Blood pressure | 100–180 mmHg systolic · Diastolic <100 | Same |
| Recent fever / illness | Defer 2 weeks post-recovery | Defer 2 weeks post-recovery |
| Pregnancy / recent delivery | Defer 12 months | Defer 12 months |
| Recent tattoo / piercing | Defer 12 months | Defer 12 months |
| Malaria in last 3 years | Defer 3 years post-treatment | Defer 3 years post-treatment |
| Fit, healthy adult | Eligible — welcome! | Eligible — welcome! |
Apheresis (by appointment): Monday – Saturday, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Blood Centre counter (emergency): 24 hours, 7 days a week
Location: Ground Floor, KG Hospital Main Building · Call 0422-2219191 to pre-register
Registration & Consent
Fill a donor questionnaire. A trained counsellor reviews your history and takes written consent.
Mini Physical
Blood pressure, pulse, weight, and haemoglobin check by finger-prick. Takes 5 minutes.
Phlebotomy
450 ml collected via sterile single-use needle. Takes 8–10 minutes for whole blood.
Refreshments & Rest
15-minute rest, juice and biscuits provided. You can drive and resume normal activity the same day.
Component Separation
Your donation is centrifuged and separated into PRBC, FFP, and platelets — saving up to 4 lives.
Infectious Screening
HIV, HBsAg, HCV, malaria, syphilis testing. Only cleared units are labelled and released.
Is Coimbatore's Most Trusted
NABH Licensing & Quality Management
The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals (NABH) blood bank standards are among the most demanding in healthcare — covering personnel qualifications, equipment calibration, standard operating procedures, incident reporting, and donor counselling. KG Hospital Blood Bank has maintained NABH accreditation continuously, with zero critical non-conformances in recent assessments. Every process — from donor registration to component issue — is documented and auditable.
Voluntary, Replacement-Free Donor Base
The World Health Organization identifies voluntary, non-remunerated blood donation as the gold standard of blood safety — voluntary donors have the lowest rates of transfusion-transmissible infections. KG Hospital has actively moved away from replacement donation (where a patient's family provides donors) towards a voluntary donor programme. Regular camps, corporate tie-ups, and a loyal registered donor panel ensure adequate, safe inventory year-round.
Rare Blood Group Registry
Blood groups extend far beyond ABO and Rh. Rare phenotypes — Bombay blood group (Oh), K-negative (Kell), Duffy-negative, Kidd-negative — can make finding compatible blood extremely difficult. KG Hospital maintains a rare blood group donor registry with contact details for verified rare phenotype donors, enabling the team to mobilise a compatible donor within hours for even the most unusual blood type requests.
24/7 Emergency Blood Supply for Complex Surgery
Cardiac surgery, trauma, obstetric haemorrhage, and complex neurosurgery can require large volumes of blood rapidly and without warning. KG Hospital Blood centre maintains a rolling inventory across all common blood groups — pre-positioned for the hospital's surgical programmes — and has a mass casualty protocol that scales up component production and donor mobilisation rapidly. No major surgery at KG Hospital has been delayed by blood availability.
