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Blood transfusion in clinical practice and ethical-legal implications

Abstract:

Blood transfusion has great clinical utility, being a fundamental aspect of medical care for patients with blood deficiency with one or more of its elements. Despite this, there are risks associated with this procedure such as the transmission of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, among others. Therefore, the institutions responsible for providing this service must have the highest standards of health and technology that can ensure patient care and well-being. In addition, there must be a level of professionalism and ethics for these practices since bad applications can lead to legal problems, both for specialists and for organizations where they work, because it is a practice that compromises the life and health of the individual. Although there are different types of donors or volunteers, the recipient must always be aware of the procedure through informed consent, the state of the blood to be received, the level of sterility of the instruments to be used, and that the specialist is within his full capacity to do the intervention. In Ecuador, the law establishes various articles and chapters on a good methodology on blood transfusions, duties, and rights of the volunteer and the recipient, as well as the professional involved.