Anaesthesiology and transfusion medicine

Anaesthesiology and transfusion medicine are presented as two specialties in medicine which have many common interests and mutual bonds. They both are young developments with similar historical stages during the last centuries and fulminant final progresses within the last decades. In a state of the art review transfusion medicine is described as a new specialty whose complexity, its nowadays accepted facets, the goals and topics are clearly understood. The anaesthesiologist as the clinician with the greatest proximity to blood transfusion should know about transfusion medicine not only theoretical basic science, but also practical clinical work. It is necessary for anaesthetists to know about immunology, haemoglobin levels, blood coagulation and the haemodynamics of circulation, some of these facets being already well known to him from everyday work in the O.R. and at the ICU. The anaesthetist must furthermore be familiar with bed side pretransfusion testing, autologous blood transfusion, the indications for an appropriate use of the different blood components and the danger of adverse effects of blood transfusion. A clear and safe use of blood during surgery and in the intensive care medicine must be the final goal for anaesthesiologists wanting to fulfill their tasks properly.