Autologous transfusions for cancer patients undergoing elective ablative surgery

Patients who have cancer are exposed to the adverse consequences of blood transfusions, such as transmissible diseases. This study presents an examination of a program of autologous blood deposit for cancer patients undergoing elective surgical procedures. Over a 3-year period, 235 patients deposited 388 units of autologous blood: 6 for head and neck tumor surgery, 8 for neurosurgical tumors, 8 for gastrointestinal and colorectal tumor surgery, 14 for adrenal tumor surgery, 16 for gynecologic tumor surgery, 23 for soft tissue and bone tumor surgery, 25 for mastectomies and reconstructive breast surgery, 42 for genitourinary tumor surgery, and 93 for bone marrow aspirations for autologous transplants. One hundred eighty-two patients (77.4%) used 278 units (71.6%) of their autologous blood units during the operations, 50/182 required additional homologous blood, and 53 did not require transfusions with autologous blood. Our study shows that a majority of these patients (132/182) underwent surgery using only autologous transfusions. Therefore, we believe that predeposited autologous blood is a viable alternative to homologous blood for cancer patients undergoing surgery.