transfusion

American  

[trans-fyoo-zhuhn] / trænsˈfju ʒən /

noun

• transfusions
  plural

1. the act or process of transfusing.

2. Medicine/Medical. the direct transferring of blood, plasma, or the like into a blood vessel.

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transfusion British  

/ trænsˈfjuːʒən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of transfusing

2. the injection of blood, blood plasma, etc, into the blood vessels of a patient

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transfusion Scientific  

/ trăns-fyo̅o̅′zhən /

1. The transfer of blood or a component of blood, such as red blood cells, plasma, or platelets, from one person to another to replace losses caused by injury, surgery, or disease. Donated blood products are tested for blood type and certain infectious diseases and stored in blood banks until they are used. The blood of the donor is shown to be histologically compatible, or crossmatched, with that of the recipient before transfusion.

2. See more at Rh factor See Note at blood type

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• transfusions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of transfusion

1570–80; < Latin trānsfūsiōn- (stem of trānsfūsiō ) decanting, intermingling, equivalent to trānsfūs ( us ) ( see transfuse) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

A transfusion is when doctors put blood into a patient's vein. An accident victim might need a transfusion if he's lost blood. Besides accidents, there are other medical conditions that require blood transfusions, such as heart disease and some kinds of surgery. The blood a patient receives during a transfusion usually comes from donations given by healthy people. You can use the noun transfusion for any transfer of liquid, like the pouring of lemonade from a glass pitcher to a plastic one, though it's most often used to describe the medical procedure.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

transfusion transfusions

The elder Modrzejewski was critically injured in the incident and received an emergency blood transfusion from Pasadena Fire Department paramedics, an action that “probably saved his life,” according to city spokesperson Lisa Derderian.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

The identification of MAL changed that, giving researchers a molecular explanation, clinicians a path toward better genetic testing, and rare patients a better chance of being identified before a difficult transfusion becomes an emergency.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

Earlier clinical reports have shown that anti-AnWj antibodies can cause hemolytic transfusion reactions, in which transfused red blood cells are destroyed by the recipient's immune system.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

The court heard that the child also had sickle cell disease, which complicated the operation and increased the potential need for a blood transfusion.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

“You seem nice, your parents seem fine, and you know, if I ever need a kidney or a blood transfusion, it wouldn’t hurt to have you in my contacts.”

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway

People with the disease can develop severe anemia, experience frequent infections, and need repeated blood transfusions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

For decades, treatment focused on controlling painful crises, preventing infections and using blood transfusions to reduce complications such as stroke.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

He spent nine days on a ventilator and 18 days on dialysis, during which time doctors gave him blood, platelet and plasma transfusions.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

Erin had a "catastrophic" haemorrhage and needed 13 blood transfusions.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

Jeffrey’s counts were really low, so low that the doctors gave him two transfusions: one of whole blood and one of platelets.This turned the two-day trip into a four-day trip.

From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick