Womens Clinic of SeattleHysterectomy and Autologous Blood TransfusionDonation of autologous blood (patient's own blood) by hysterectomy patients causes anemia and is associated with a more liberal transfusion policy, resulting in a markedly increased incidence of transfusion and its associated risks, according to research from California. Journal of the American Medical Association 276:7981, 1996. In a study involving 263 patients admitted for elective abdominal or vaginal hysterectomy to a community hospital, the major risk factor identified for transfusion was the donation of autologous blood. Of 140 patients who donated autologous blood, 25 were transfused, whereas just one patient of 123 who did not donate autologous blood was transfused. Patients who donated autologous blood had significantly lower mean admission hemoglobin levels than patients who did not donate. Researchers concluded that the elimination of preoperative autologous donation for these patients should not result in frequent exposure to allogenic blood.
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