Surgical and anaesthetic management of anaemia: pros and cons of cell salvage devices

Abstract

Autologous cell salvaged blood can be an effective way of minimising allogeneic blood transfusion in the elective and emergency surgical setting.The controlled use of such devices does require training and assessment of the operator's competence. There remains a reluctance to use in all surgical situations due to clinical objections about the likelihood of contamination of the blood by bacteria, malignant cells and fetal debris.A well led cell salvage service can ensure that quality assurance is achieved and provides a ready source of red cells for transfusion.