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

Waldorf had spelled out the catch-22 in her journal that morning: “If I need a blood transfusion and it stabilizes my condition, they cannot induce. If my temp continues to spike then they can induce.”

From Salon ● May 27, 2026

It was this "overwhelming pressure" that prompted Jones to ultimately turn down the transfusion.

From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026

On Wednesday, authorities in central state of Madhya Pradesh said five children with thalassemia, aged three to 15, have tested positive for HIV, prompting concerns over blood transfusion practices.

From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2025

“I got my blood transfusion when I married my wife.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025

The coffee burned into him, a dark transfusion that awakened him to his own desire to leave this house and set his eyes on long curves and highway signs.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

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

The child, the complaint says, required dialysis and blood transfusions and suffered seizures and decreased pancreatic function.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026

In the 1920s, Soviet polymath Alexander Bogdanov’s experiments with rejuvenating blood transfusions attracted the Kremlin’s attention—before he died as a consequence of his self-inflicted treatments, at the age of 55.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

In email listservs, longevity startup founders join enthusiasts to debate matters from young-blood transfusions to the latest popular supplements.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026

Darwin's “gemmule” theory—that hereditary instructions were thrown adrift by all cells and then floated in the blood, like a million messages in bottles—suggested that blood transfusions might transmit gemmules and thereby alter heredity.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee