Blood reservation and transfusion for elective surgeries: a cross-sectional study

Purpose: Blood reservation and ordering is common practice in elective surgeries. However, crossmatched blood that is not transfused is wasted which imposes burden on health care system. This study aimed to determine the amount of blood ordered and transfused in elective surgeries. Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, 100 cases of patients who underwent elective cesarean section surgery, thyroidectomy, hysterectomy, laminectomy, percutaneous nephrolithotomy, cerebral aneurysm, brain and spinal tumors, vertebral fusion, laminectomy, femur and pelvis fracture, and discectomy from 2019 to 2020 were examined. A crossmatch to transfusion (C/T) ratio was obtained. The data was extracted from patients’ archives and was analysis using SPSSv21software. Results: 71% of the patients in the study were female and 29% were male. The mean age of patients was reported to be 40.75 ± 13.59 years. 171 units were crossmatched, and only 26 units were transfusion making a crossmatch to transfusion ratio of 6.5. Cesarean section was the most performed elective procedure and had highest C/T ratio, 32. Other surgeries like hysterectomy, pelvic fracture, femoral fracture, discectomy had C/T of 2.6, 2, 2.6, and 3, respectively. Conclusions: According to the findings, routine blood reservation may not be required in elective surgeries. To improve the quality of blood reserve, it is recommended to use maximum surgical blood ordering schedule to estimate the quantity of blood needed.