ABSTRACT
Autologous blood products differ from allogeneic products in several impor tant respects. First, the source of the product may not always be a healthy human donor but rather, a patient with an anticipated need for blood products in the near or immediate future. Second, criteria for accepting blood donations in most collection sites differ between allogeneic and autologous blood donors, with more liberal criteria being applied to autologous donors. Third, the autologous blood donation is a special type o f directed blood donation in that the donor is the intended recipient and unlike directed donor units, it is an uncommon practice to use autologous units for transfusion to a recipient other than the intended recipi ent (crossover, Chapter 2). Fourth, autologous products differ substantially from allogeneic products in composition, potency and shelf life. Different types o f au tologous products and some characteristic features are shown in Figure 3.1.
