Blood Bank
A hospital storage site, usually part of the laboratory, where blood components (red cells, platelets, fresh frozen plasma, and cryoprecipitate) are kept for later use in blood transfusions.

Blood Component
A therapeutic component of blood intended for transfusion (e.g., red cells, granulocytes, platelets, plasma, cryoprecipitate, cyrosupernatant plasma) that can be prepared using the equipment and techniques available in a blood centre.

Blood Component Sequestration or apheresis
Like acute Normovolemic hemodilution, blood is removed from a patient at the start of surgery. The blood is fractionated into its primary components of plasma, platelets and red blood cells. Each component is given back to the patient during surgery as needed with the ideal being that the platelets and plasma are left for the end of the procedure. Because of the time that is required to pull the blood out and to fractionate it, this procedure is generally reserved for major blood loss procedures where significant blood loss is almost guaranteed (for example cardiac surgery).

Blood Product
Any therapeutic product derived from human blood or plasma, and produced by a manufacturing process that pools multiple units (usually more than 12) e.g. human serum albumin, immunoglobulin preparations, and coagulation products (factors VIII and IX, fibrinogen, anti-thrombin III, etc.).

Blood Transfusion
The process of administering blood or blood components from one person into the circulatory system of another. Blood transfusions can be life-saving in some situations, such as massive blood loss due to trauma, or can be used to replace blood lost during surgery.

"Bloodless" Medicine and Surgery
Medical or surgical treatment without the use of banked (stored) allogeneic blood or primary blood components.

Bone and Tissue Donation/Transplantation
Bone and tissue are used in certain surgical procedures. It is standard practice for extensive testing and purging of blood to be done on all organs and tissue.
Bone can be donated postmortem, but also during life. More specific bone of people receiving a total hip arthroplasty can be used for donation procedures. If someone agrees to donate the bone to the bone bank he/she is extensively tested before the bone can be used.

A family conference regarding the patient's choice of organ donation and/or transplantation is advisable and is recommended before the patient enters the hospital.

Bone Marrow
The soft tissue inside bones where blood cells are formed. Most of it is in the long bones. The tissue is active during the whole life and has a large overcapacity. The removal of the marrow from one bone to place prosthesis or repair a bone through intramedullary devices will not jeopardize the function of the bone marrow as blood forming organ.