[Cost savings with autotransfusion in connection with coronary surgery]

The main purpose of this study was to estimate the costs and savings related to a consistent autotransfusion programme. More than 8,000,000 ml of autologous blood or blood-containing fluid were collected from 3,637 consecutive patients undergoing coronary artery bypass and returned to the patients during and after the operation. Economic analyses revealed a price of NOK 13 million (approximately 2 million USD) for this amount of autologous blood, or NOK 3,500 (600 USD) per patient. In the present series the need for bank blood or blood products was modest, since 69 patients (1.9%) received packed red cells, with or without plasma, 76 patients (2.1%) were given plasma transfusions only, and 11 patients (0.3%) received platelets. Thus, 95.7% of the patients were not exposed to any homologous blood products during the stay in hospital. Absence of morbidity related to the low homologous blood transfusion rate was assumed to save costs substantially, although this saving was difficult to calculate in terms of currency. Post-operative complications were few, and the total in-hospital mortality rate was 0.4%.