Consent should be obtained and documented. Check your local institutional guidelines. Always cover the following when gaining consent:
Explain- Cause/likelihood of bleeding or the low blood count (including any uncertainty)
- Nature of the proposed transfusion therapy – what is involved
- Benefits expected
- Risks common and rare but serious
- Alternatives including the risk of doing nothing.
Ask - Is there anything else you would like to know?
- Is there anything you do not understand?
Provide- Interpreter for non-English speaking patients
- Written information.