Continuing education episode! For patients who might need blood transfusion, the ideas of donating their own blood (“autologous donation”) and/or choosing their blood donor (“directed donation”) seem VERY appealing! However, Dr. Julie Karp explains the good reasons why both special donation types are getting less and less common, and tells us what role, if any, each has in today's Transfusion Medicine. This episode is eligible for FREE CME and SAMs/CC credit for physicians and P.A.C.E. contact hours for laboratorians through Transfusion News Continuing Education on Wiley Health Learning.