[The present possibilities for routine use of blood-saving measures from the anesthesiologic point of view--theoretical bases and clinical practice. III. Autologous blood donation, autologous donation criteria and organizational measures].

This third part of a review on "Autologous Transfusion" deals with preoperative autologous blood donation, with supplemental pharmaco-therapy, with election criteria of the patient as well as with the organizational measures to be taken into account if an intensive autologous predeposit programme is routinely applied. Donation of an autologous predeposit aims at supplying the patient with autologous blood and autologous plasma, respectively, according to the expected blood loss and in order to reduce the need for homologous transfusion. Important aspects, which have to be considered if applying a routine autologous donation programme refer both to the election criteria of the patient and to the organizational programme and measures to be considered. Data in the literature reveal, that the risk of side effects for the patient (who is both the donor and the receiver of the (autologous) blood) during and after donation of an autologous predeposit is definitely not greater than the risk reported for otherwise healthy homologous volunteers. In our opinion, this means, that a patient who has been declared eligible for an elective operative intervention which makes homologous transfusion very probable, can be considered eligible for donating an autologous predeposit; additionally, he should also be eligible for acute normovolemic hemodilution, as donating an autologous predeposit with accompanying volume substitution of the predeposit 'is under hemodynamic aspects' nothing else than an acute and preoperatively performed normovolemic hemodilution. Analysing the data so far reported, volume substitution of the autologous predeposit appears to be a very important component for the patient's safety.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)