Emergency department autotransfusion for trauma victims.

In the initial treatment of serious trauma victims, a valuable source of blood is often overlooked: the patient's own blood, shed into the chest cavity as a result of blunt or penetrating injury. This blood can often be salvaged and made available for immediate reinfusion as an autologous whole blood transfusion, or autotransfusion. In the past decade, clinical experience in many hospitals has confirmed the safety of this method, and a commercial system suitable for use in the emergency department is now available.