What is blood conservation?
What is blood conservation surgery?
Why is blood conservation so important today?
For which procedures and conditions is blood conservation an option?
Have any studies been conducted that support blood conservation and blood conservation surgery?
How many hospitals offer blood conservation programs?
Do I have to be religiously opposed to refuse blood in my medical care?
Question: What is blood conservation?
Answer: The goal of blood conservation is to conserve or retain enough of the patient's own blood during medical or surgical treatments and procedures to reduce or eliminate the need for a blood transfusion. There are many patients who require blood transfusions due to anemia, cancer treatments and surgery. During blood conservation, various techniques are used to conserve blood, control bleeding or promote the growth of new blood cells. Some of these techniques include vitamins, medications, and micro-sampling where only a minimum amount of blood is taken for testing.
Question: What is "Blood Conservation" surgery?
Answer: An organizational quality team focused on salvaging the patient's own blood and reducing the likelihood of needing blood or blood product transfusion.
Question: Why is blood conservation so important today?
Answer: There is a more severe shortage of blood for transfusion than at any time in history. This is an international problem. The general public is becoming more and more concerned about the safety of receiving blood from a donor. While the threat of HIV has reduced drastically over the past 20 years, there is still the threat of suffering a delayed hemolytic reaction, infections, and diseases that may be a direct result of the transfusion that may not activate and become problematic for the patient until 10-20 years later. Due to increased safety measures in the processing of blood, the cost is skyrocketing. One unit can cost as much as $300-$900 per pint after hospital processing costs are added (depending on the region of the U.S. you are in). Since many insurance companies, including Medicare, do not directly reimburse the cost of blood in the acute care setting, this can be expensive for the hospital when there is no insurance coverage.
Question: For which procedures and conditions is blood conservation an option?
Answer: Blood conservation can replace transfusions for essentially all conditions and procedures given the right circumstances and time to prepare. Bloodless surgery and medicine can be used on all diagnoses from heart transplant to hernia surgery, again depending on the timing and circumstances of the patients in question.
Question: Have any studies been conducted that support blood conservation and blood conservation surgery?
Answer: The studies are reported at a rapid rate from all over the world. There is a large amount of literature and study results in print. The list is far too long to report here.
Question: How many hospitals offer blood conservation programs?
Answer: Approximately 200 hospitals nationwide and 400 internationally have comprehensive blood conservation programs. More hospitals are adding or establishing blood conservation programs every day, and some believe it will become the standard of care in the future due to continuing concerns about the nation's blood supply and to continuous blood shortages worldwide.
Question: Do I have to object for religious reasons refuse blood in my medical care?
Answer: Absolutely not. Blood Conservation medicine does have its roots in the Jehovah's Witness population. In order to serve this population, some hospitals began developing Blood Conservation techniques. But the benefits of blood conservation - including healthier outcomes, fewer risks, and cost savings to both the patient and the hospital, have driven many hospitals to establish or broaden blood conservation practices for all patients they serve.
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