Towards bloodless surgery?

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There is emerging evidence that blood transfusion is an independent risk factor for adverse patient outcomes, and a lack of evidence for benefit of transfusion in many clinical settings. The launch of the new NHMRC endorsed Patient Blood Management Guidelines for Management of Critical Bleeding and Peri-operative Care from the National Blood Authority encourages clinicians to shift from a focus on product use to a patient orientated approach that seeks to make the best use of all treatment options in the management of the patient’s own blood reserves. WA Health has been promoting this shift in emphasis through a statewide Patient Blood Management (PBM) Program since 2008. This presentation will focus on the perioperative initiatives developed at the Fremantle Hospital and Health Service, the leading site for the WA PBM project. Program initiatives at the hospital will be discussed and the integration of the program across the State will be addressed. The important role of international partnering clinicians and hospitals and the use of the international faculty in the project will be outlined. Critical opportunities and prospects for pathology providers to enhance and facilitate the effective implementation of PBM in Australia will be considered.