my brother 3 day old baby has jaundice and I was wondering if his child has to have a blood transfusion how do they determain who is compatable to give the blood to give to the baby and is it possible for a sibling of the birth mother or father to be compatable to do so.
M girls were slightly jaundiced. I had to put put their bassinet by the window when I brought Them home from the hospital.
Updated
M girls were slightly jaundiced. I had to put put their bassinet by the window when I brought Them home from the hospital.
Updated
M girls were slightly jaundiced. I had to put put their bassinet by the window when I brought Them home from the hospital.
I am not familiar with blood transfusions for jaundice in newborns.
One of ours had it as a newborn. We were told to take for walks outside and to bring near window during the day - it resolved within a week or two.
This is easy enough to Google.
Jaundice in a newborn is common and fairly harmless.
He has excess blood which is breaking down and his liver is just coming online to deal with the bilirubin.
Blood transfusions is not how to deal with this.
In most cases nothing has to be done.
If the pediatrician feels something needs to be done then the child will spend some time under some special lights which will help break the bilirubin down.
A little sunlight is good for this too.
It's sweet that you are concerned - but let the parents and their doctor handle what ever issues come up.
My son had jaundice as a newborn. His levels were very high, so he stayed in the hospital for 10 days so that he could be under the bilirubin lights. His levels were good for whatever length of time they needed to be, so he was released and we were told to bring him back to be tested. When we brought him back, his levels were high again. They did not readmit him. Instead, they sent us home with a portable bilirubin light. We had to strap the light onto his back. He looked so funny! We often called him our glowworm! We took him to a party, and I overheard someone say, "Why is that baby glowing!" I can't remember how long we used that light, but it did it's job. Our son is now a happy and very healthy 11 year old.
I'm sure a lot has changed in 11 years, but I've never heard of a blood transfusion to treat jaundice.
if the baby needed a blood transfusion, and a family member were the best donor, be assured that the hospital would have let the parents know.
lots of babies have a bit of jaundice at birth. sunlight is all most of 'em need, and the special lamps they have in the hospital (or to take home if necessary) are the fix, not blood transfusions.
khairete
S.
2 words. Indirect sunlight. :)
All 4 of my babies had jaundice and that's all the doctor told me to do. It's actually quite common in newborns these days.
It is great that you are so ready to support your brother, sister-in-law, and their baby. As the other posters said, your blood probably is not needed for the baby in this situation, however I bet that the parents could use lots of extra hands to cope with their newborn. You might ask them what help you can provide them. New parents usually love help with cooking meals, cleaning their house, running errands, holding Baby, taking her/him out for walks if needed, changing diapers, and so on. Welcome to being an auntie!
Let the baby's doctor determine what is needed, rather than asking strangers on the internet.
Jaundice is very common in newborns, and while I know it sounds alarming to you, it's very easy to treat.
Regarding blood transfusions - the family does not have to provide the blood. It's not even as involved a match as an organ transplant, which usually comes from outside the family anyway. Blood for transfustions can be from any compatible donor, and all blood supplies are routinely typed and crossmatched ("type & cross") for a number of factors. It's done by the lab, and every hospital has one. You know those Red Cross blood drives you see advertised? That's what they're collecting. If you want to help, the thing to do is to contact the hospital where the child is, your local hospital or the Red Cross and find out the hours (sometimes easier to make an appointment) to go in to donate blood. It won't go to your nephew (who probably doesn't need a transfusion anyway), but it will go to someone who is a match, just as some wonderful donors provided the blood for every person in your nephew's hospital who needed blood today. Healthy donors can give every 8 weeks.
N.
Welcome to mamapedia.
Your nephew doesn't need a blood transfusion. Who told you that? My oldest son was born jaundiced. He was pretty yellow. They put him under the ultra violet lights for 4 days. He wore a mask so his eyes didn't get damaged. When we brought him home from the hospital - they wanted us to sit him in his car seat by a window to get more sunlight.
We took him back in 4 days later for a bilirubin count. Which is a blood draw from the heel on infants.
IF it's that bad and he needs a blood transfusion? It's got to be REALLY bad and there are liver issues most likely.
The hospital will conduct tests to see who is the best match for infant and blood type. You can donate blood - it doesn't have to be just for your nephew. Other people might need your blood.
Babies with jaundice usually lay bare naked in filtered the sunlight and see the doc to make sure what's going on. I'd go with what the doc says on this.
My daughter was born with jaundice. They brought in a special uv light bed for her to lay in any time I was not holding her. We had to stay in the hospital 4 days and then she was fine and we could go home. The doctor will know what to do.
