Continuous improvement of our autologous blood donation program carried out during 10 years in 1198 orthopaedic patients.

BACKGROUND: We analysed the relationship between baseline haemoglobin levels and the need for post-operative blood transfusion in our patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate and optimize the pre-operative autologous blood donation (PABD) program at our hospital through a constant audit.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 1997 and December 2006 we evaluated 1198 consecutive patients who underwent elective, unilateral, primary total hip or knee arthroplasty and who met our inclusion criteria. We determined the baseline haemoglobin level to establish the relationship to the need for post-operative transfusion.

RESULTS: The results of our study show that the baseline haemoglobin level is a strong predictor of blood transfusion after unilateral, primary total hip or knee arthroplasty.

CONCLUSIONS: The baseline haemoglobin level is a strong predictor of blood transfusion after elective, unilateral, primary total hip or knee arthroplasty. On the basis of these findings, we do not recommend autologous predonation for patients with a baseline haemoglobin level of >14g/dl moreover we always recommend the use of a blood cell salvage system and a constant audit of pre-operative autologous blood donation (PABD) to avoid unnecessary expense and waste.