Automation in blood banking and hemotherapy.

In summary, although instrumentation related to blood bank and transfusion medicine is not new, it is not yet widely available in smaller blood collection facilities and hospitals. Advances in technology with microplate processing and the changes in resources available for the blood bank, such as the technologist shortage, have led to development of smaller systems. This trend is expected to continue, with the development of instruments having improved capability for antiglobulin testing. Autologous blood salvage works well with both the canister systems and the high-speed continuous flow instruments. Given the increasing demand to avoid transfusion of homologous blood, the applications of this technology will expand, and it is likely that technological improvements will be made.