Clinical strategies for supporting the untransfusable hemorrhaging patient

Hemorrhaging patients who cannot be transfused due to personal beliefs or the lack of compatible blood products provide a unique challenge for clinicians. Here we describe a 58-year-old African American man with a history of sickle cell-beta(+) thalassemia who had recently received a multiunit exchange transfusion and developed hematochezia followed by severe anemia. Due to the presence of multiple alloantibodies, no compatible packed red blood cell (pRBC) units could initially be located. The patient was managed with mechanical ventilation, colloid and crystalloid solutions, procoagulants, and recombinant erythropoietin. After an extensive search by our blood bank, enough compatible pRBC units were identified and the patient survived without significant clinical sequelae. Management of the untransfusable hemorrhaging patient requires a multidisciplined approach, with coordination between blood banks, hematologists, intensivists, and other specialists. Steps should be taken to avoid or limit blood loss, identify compatible pRBC units, control hypotension, maximize oxygen delivery, minimize metabolic demand, and stimulate erythropoiesis. In dire circumstances, use of experimental hemoglobin substitutes or transfusion of the least serologically incompatible pRBCs available may be considered.