Preoperative autologous blood donations by high-risk patients

The cost effectiveness of preoperative autologous blood donations.

BACKGROUND Since the recognition that human immunodeficiency virus is transmissible by blood transfusion there has been increasing public and professional support for autologous blood donations before elective surgery. Autologous blood donation is, however, a more expensive process than the donation of allogeneic blood by community volunteers. Furthermore, there have been recent improvements in...

Autologous blood donation in "high-risk" patients.

Autologous blood is defined as blood drawn from one individual to be given back to that individual as the need for transfusion arises. The Canadian Red Cross has provided autologous blood donation to healthy donors for the last decade. To participate in this program, patients must essentially meet regular blood donor criteria, thus excluding patients with cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic,...

Revised guidelines on preoperative autologous blood donation.

advertising." When the problem is so serious and the benefit of banning promotion so clear we are inevitably left to wonder what it is that stops Mrs Bottomley from acting. Natural civil service inertia, a libertarian distaste for advertising bans, and some economic anxiety may have marginal importance, but direct political pressure from the tobacco industry and those who benefit from advertisi...

Blood donations and risk of coronary heart disease in men.

BACKGROUND In experimental animals, iron overload appears to promote atherosclerosis and ischemic myocardial damage, but the results of epidemiological studies that relate iron stores to risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) have been inconsistent. METHODS AND RESULTS We prospectively studied blood donations, which effectively reduce body iron stores, in relation to the risk of CHD among parti...

The rise and fall of preoperative autologous blood donation.