How to reposition the benefice-risk balance to safely transfuse patients in non-vital situations?
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Continuous Manual Exchange Transfusion for Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: An Efficient Method to Avoid Iron Overload
Published on: March 14, 2017
1EA3064, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lyon, 42023 Saint-Étienne, France; Palliative Care Unit, the Ruffec Hospital, 16700 Ruffec, France; Institut National de la Transfusion Sanguine, 75015 Paris, France.
It appears that the vast majority of review articles on transfusion deal with complications rather than benefits of this supportive therapy. However, deduced from reports compiled by hemovigilance systems, the majority of transfusion procedures do not lead to complications; rather, the majority of prescriptions of blood components generate measurable benefits in the transfused patient. This short review attempts to analyze the causes for such a discrepancy between benefits and complications in the literature and in the everyday life in wards and introduces the role of Patient Blood Management in this understanding.
It appears that the vast majority of review articles on transfusion deal with complications rather than benefits of this supportive therapy. However, deduced from reports compiled by hemovigilance systems, the majority of transfusion procedures do not lead to complications; rather, the majority of prescriptions of blood components generate measurable benefits in the transfused patient. This short review attempts to analyze the causes for such a discrepancy between benefits and complications in the literature and in the everyday life in wards and introduces the role of Patient Blood Management in this understanding.
Related Concept Videos
Blood Transfusion
Blood Transfusion Overview
A blood transfusion is a medical procedure used to replace blood lost due to injury, surgery, or to treat conditions such as anemia or cancer. During a transfusion, donor blood is...
Blood Transfusion and Agglutination
History
The history of blood transfusion dates back to the 17th century, when early attempts were made in animals. In 1818 James Blundell, a British doctor, performed the first successful human blood transfusion. Later in 1900, Karl...
Balancing Redox Equations
Benefits of Self-Esteem
Introduction to Vital Signs
Vital signs help healthcare professionals assess an individual's well-being and detect any functional changes...
Guidelines For Measuring Vital Signs
Before taking a patient's vital signs, a nurse would consider and assess the patient's comfort level and ensure appropriate equipment is available.

