Intraoperative Autologous Blood Donation Leads to Fewer Transfusions in Cardiac Surgery.

Background: Blood conservation with antifibrinolytics, topical hemostatics, and strict transfusion triggers are becoming commonplace in cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a blood conservation protocol centering on standardized intraoperative autologous blood donation (IAD) use in cardiac surgery.

Methods: We reviewed charts of patients who underwent cardiac surgery at our hospital over an 8-year period to analyze transfusion tendencies before and after a new blood conservation policy was implemented.