title: Blood usage for elective surgery. A reappraisal of the need for autologous transfusion.
abstract: To assess the need for a pre-operative autologous transfusion programme in a large teaching hospital, a review of blood cross-matching and transfusion practice for three elective surgical procedures was undertaken. For hysterectomy, the cross-match rate was 28%, and the transfusion rate only 8%. For transurethral resection of prostate and hemicolectomy, all patients were cross-matched, but only 19% and 36%, respectively, transfused. Given these figures, an autologous transfusion programme was not felt to be cost-effective. Local audit is necessary before this can be ascertained for a given district, as is consideration of the likelihood of infectious hazards in the regional blood supply.
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield.
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Greaves
mesh_terms: D001788:Blood Grouping and Crossmatching; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001804:Blood Transfusion, Autologous; D003082:Colectomy; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy; D008297:Male; D011468:Prostatectomy