Dherbs doesn’t recommend blood transfusions due to their inherent risk to the body’s overall health.
As no two people’s blood is EXACTLY alike, it’s not healthy to take the blood of someone since their blood is formulated exclusively for their body. While blood can be “typed” and “matched” your body may reject it for a variety of reasons.
Blood transfusions are like an organ transplant-even with the most thorough testing, matching and typing, there’s a possibility the transfusion will be rejected, causing severe damage to vital organs, and possibly death.
Risks and Side Effects
Blood transfusions have several known side effects:
Allergic reaction (hives)
Even with an exact blood match, it’s possible to have an allergic reaction to parts of the blood received in the transfusion.
Fever
While a fever itself may not be cause for worry, doctors usually stop transfusions if the patient spikes a fever while receiving the blood as it may indicate a more serious side-effect.
Acute Immune Hemolytic Reaction
This a rare, but potentially deadly, side effect from receiving a blood transfusion. The reaction is triggered by the body rejecting the transfused blood, usually due to an improper match in blood types.
Delayed Hemolytic Reaction
While the same reaction as the acute immune hemolytic reaction, the delayed reaction takes longer to manifest itself.
Lung Injury
This can happen due to antibodies or other pathogens in the transfused blood that accumulate in the lungs.
Blood Infection
Although a rare side effect, blood infections can be transferred through blood transfusions including:
- HIV/AIDS
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
- West Nile Virus
- Sepsis (bacterial infection)
Iron Overdose
It’s possible to receive too much iron as a result of a blood transfusion, which can damage internal organs, such as the heart and liver.
Graft-versus-Host Disease
White blood cells attack the red blood cells transfused into the body, essentially treating the infused blood as an infection. While rare, graft-versus-host disease is usually fatal.
Alternatives to Blood Transfusions
There are currently no alternatives to blood transfusions, since the body needs a fixed amount of blood to survive.
If you anticipate needing a blood transfusion (such as needing surgery or giving birth), it’s advised to donate blood to the hospital’s blood bank so your own blood will be transfused back into your body, reducing the likelihood of experiencing the known risks or side effects.
To rebuild, strengthen, fortify, tone, revivify, and nourish the blood, use herbs such as:
- Nettle
- Amla (Indian Gooseberry)
- Burdock Root
- Yellow Dock Root
- Dandelion Root
- Red Clover Tops and
- Alfalfa
Liquid chlorophyll is a great aid to rebuild, fortify, tone, revivify, and nourish the blood.
Eating foods rich in organic iron (Iron Phosphate) will also help rebuild, fortify, tone, revivify, and nourish the blood.
Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
