[Quality management in autologous blood donation]

In many anaesthesia departments, the autologous transfusions concept is an integral part of the perioperative measures catalogue. All patients benefit from this procedure, especially those who face an operation during which much blood will be lost. If a patient donates his/her own blood for their operation, there should not be any increase in risk to this patient. By employing contemporary quality management practices, including computer technology, the quality of the execution and management of the components as well as the quality of the patient care can be evaluated according to the quality of the structure, process and results. By this assessment the efficiency of the procedure can be confirmed and the advantages of using this technique, when utilised by an anaesthesiologist experienced in transfusion, can be underlined. An overview of the pre-existing and expected perioperative risk is of special advantage to the anaesthesiologist to make a realistic and effective decision regarding the possibility of safely processing the autologous blood donation concept.