The platelet level indicates the erythropoietic capacity for preoperative autologous blood donation

The erythropoietic capacity for preoperative autologous blood donation (ECPABD) shows marked inter individual variability. This study was performed to evaluate factors useful to predict individual ECPABD from data available before the first donation. The subjects consisted of 74 adult patients who received autologous blood donation, with a mean of 61 +/- 12.8 yr (SD). We classified the patients into four groups using our criteria for evaluating the ECPABD and investigated the relationships among age, disease, pre-platelet count, and the rate of platelet increase.

(1) Advanced age and the status of disease were not distinctly correlated with low ECPABD. (2) Patients with a high pre-platelet levels had a low ECPABD regardless of the haemoglobin. (3) Patients in which the platelet count increased in accordance with the level of collection exhibited low pre-platelet counts and high ECPABD.

In patients with high pre-platelet levels, we reduced the amount collected, considered early use of recombinant human erythropoietin and reevaluated the application of autologous blood donation.