Eliminating homologous blood transfusions during abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

In order to eliminate homologous blood transfusions during abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair, increased usage of autologous predonation and intraoperative salvage is required. To determine what quantity of predonated blood is necessary to completely avoid the use of homologous blood, we reviewed the transfusion histories of 100 consecutive patients undergoing elective AAA repairs. A total of 445 units of blood were transfused, and the number of units required was directly proportional to the size of the aneurysm. One hundred sixty-six units of blood (37%) were homologous, and 279 units (63%) were autologous. Of the autologous units, 255 (91%) were from intraoperative salvage and 24 (9%) were predonated. Stratification of transfusions by size revealed that for aneurysms less than or equal to 7 cm, 132 units of homologous and 21 units of predonated blood were transfused (1.55 units per patient and 0.25 units per patient, respectively). For aneurysms greater than 7 cm, 34 units of homologous and 3 units of predonated blood were used (2.3 units per patient and 0.2 units per patient, respectively). From these data, it is concluded that predonation before surgery of a minimum of 2 units for patients with smaller aneurysms and 3 units for patients with larger aneurysms, combined with intraoperative salvage, should eliminate the need for any homologous blood transfusions associated with elective AAA repair.