Recent trends in perioperative blood transfusion during elective kidney transplantation

Accurately predicting the demand for blood transfusions is crucial for blood banks. Given the potential for emergency situations, it is imperative that blood banks maintain a sufficient inventory of blood products. In this study, we examined the use of perioperative transfusions in patients undergoing elective kidney transplants.

Data on all complement-dependent cytotoxicity-crossmatched assays between 2013 and 2022 were collected. We excluded repeated assays and patients who did not undergo kidney transplantation. Transfusion records and transfusion adverse reactions were reviewed retrospectively.

In total, 30 patients underwent elective kidney transplantation from 2013 to 2022. The mean age of the patients was 48.1±9.7 years. The male-to-female ratio was 1.5:1. Four patients received transfusions intraoperatively, whereas eight patients were transfused postoperatively. The postoperative hemoglobin level of the transfusion group (n=9, 8.9±1.3) was significantly lower than that of the nontransfusion group (n=21, 10.4±1.2). The most commonly transfused blood product intraoperatively was leuko-reduced filtered red blood cells, followed by fresh frozen plasma. When the study period was divided into two halves based on the time of operation, the first half showed a higher number of significant transfusions.

In most elective kidney transplant cases, surgery was conducted without the need for blood transfusion. The timing of transfusion, when necessary, shifted from during the operation to after the operation. The implementation of patient blood management, coupled with advancements in surgical techniques, appears to have impacted the pattern of perioperative transfusion.