If you have cancer and have just started treatments to rid your body of cancerous tumors, then you are likely well prepared for your regimen of drugs and other therapies. You may not know this, but cancer patients often need blood transfusions in addition to their other treatments. Keep reading to learn about a few of these transfusions and how they may help with your condition.

Red Blood Cell Transfusion

The vast majority of cancer treatments target the cells in the body that multiply the quickest. Cancer cells grow and multiply much more quickly than many of the other cells of the body, so this is a good way to kill the cells without causing a great deal of damage to healthy tissues. However, there are some fast-growing cells in the body that will be harmed as well. These cells include the ones of the bone marrow.

The bone marrow produces all of the cells that make up your blood. So, when the bone marrow is damaged, your body cannot produce red blood cells as quickly as it used to. Red blood cells are produced continuously because each blood cell only lives about 120 days. 

To keep anemia at bay during cancer treatments, you may need to receive red blood cell transfusions. This is extremely important to make sure that the tissues in your body are receiving the oxygen they need to survive. 

Plasma Transfusion 

Cancer damages healthy tissues in the body. In many cases, this damage can cause bleeding. The body can and will repair itself, and the first step of repair is to plug up breaks in blood vessels. These are called clots and fibrinogen within the blood plasma is responsible for the clotting. Unfortunately, the plasma and fibrinogen production may reduce significantly like red blood cell formation. 

To reduce internal bleeding issues and to make sure the body is able to clot and repair itself, your physician may suggest a plasma transfusion. Plasma transfusions may be provided with fresh or frozen plasma, and you may or may not be given platelets with the plasma. This depends on your specific blood count numbers and your condition. 

Keep in mind that plasma transfusions may be provided separately from red blood cell transfusions. However, if blood cell counts are all low, then a whole blood transfusion may be provided instead. If you want to know more about how and why transfusions are provided to cancer patients, speak with your physician or with a blood products supplier.