The use of erythropoietin in the enhancement of autologous transfusion therapy

Abstract

In the case of elective surgery requiring transfusion, preoperative autologous blood donation offers an attractive alternative to allogeneic blood transfusion. Although previously underutilized, autologous donation has become a standard of care in several elective surgical procedures, resulting in a significant increase in the percentage of blood collected nationally that is autologous. Potential candidates for autologous blood donation prior to elective surgery include any patient for whom blood type and crossmatch are requested, indicating a likelihood of requiring blood transfusion according to a maximum surgical blood ordering schedule. Utilization of autologous donation before elective surgery has increased with coordinated programs involving regional blood centers, hospital blood banks, information services, and physicians. The impact of physician ordering and autologous blood procurement practices on subsequent allogeneic blood transfusions must be understood in order to address the role of aggressive autologous blood procurement, including the role of recombinant human erythropoietin in blood conservation strategies.