title: Declining value of preoperative autologous donation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Preoperative autologous blood donation (PABD) has been shown to decrease allogeneic blood transfusion requirements in major elective surgery. Changes in transfusion practice motivated an examination of blood use from 1993 to 2000 of patients participating in the Héma-Québec PABD program.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood donation and transfusion, type of surgery, and demographic characteristics were prospectively entered into a computer database for patients participating in the Héma-Québec PABD program.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Autologous donations represented from 0.8 to 2 percent of total blood collections and have declined by 26 percent after peaking in 1995. The mean number of units collected per patient declined, as did the number of units transfused per patient and the utilization rate. For radical prostatectomy, knee replacement surgery, hip replacement surgery, and scoliosis, utilization rates were 72, 60, 83, and 78 percent in 1993 compared with 50, 50, 58, and 58 percent in 2000, respectively. In 2000, 18 percent of patients were receiving a 1-unit autologous transfusion. Depending on the surgical procedure, 85 to 95 percent of patients avoided allogeneic transfusion; this did not change significantly from 1993 to 2000.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients participating in the PABD program successfully avoided allogeneic transfusion in over 85 percent of cases. However, declining utilization rates and frequent 1-unit transfusions demonstrate the decreasing utility of PABD over time.
authors.affiliation: Héma-Québec, Montréal, Canada. Mindy.Goldman@Hema-Quebec.qc.ca
authors.forename: Mindy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.forename: Renée
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Savard
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gélinas
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Germain
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000368:Aged; D019643:Arthroplasty, Replacement; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D001804:Blood Transfusion, Autologous / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D011468:Prostatectomy; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000601:surgery; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000639:trends*