A blood bank audit of elective gynaecological surgery: a case for group and antibody screen.

A blood bank audit was carried out in a Glasgow teaching hospital to assess the utilization of blood in elective gynaecological surgery. The audit was facilitated by use of the blood bank microcomputer system. Routine cross-matching for the gynaecological procedures studied was found to be wasteful of blood bank resources. The study has underlined the value of local audit and supports the general experience of other centres which have adopted group and antibody screen policies to reduce blood wastage and allow for more effective utilization of blood.