[Blood economy during surgery (author's transl)]

Three methods exist for economizing blood during surgical operations: deferred autotransfusion and intentional hemodilution provide blood of excellent quality without any marked risk to the patient. Autotransfusion during operation is a less burdensome method which recuperates blood lost during surgery. The quality of the blood depends upon the type of operation (excellent in elective vascular surgery). Techniques and qualitative and quantitative results are described for each method.