Several strategies can be employed for efficient blood use:
1. Patient Blood Management (PBM): PBM focuses on optimizing the care of patients who might need blood transfusions. It involves measures such as minimizing blood loss during surgery, optimizing red blood cell production, and using alternatives to transfusion where possible.
2. Blood Conservation Techniques: Techniques such as autologous blood donation, where patients donate their own blood prior to surgery, and intraoperative blood salvage, where blood lost during surgery is collected and returned to the patient, can reduce the need for donor blood.
3. Evidence-Based Transfusion Practices: Guidelines and protocols based on scientific evidence help to determine when a blood transfusion is necessary, thus preventing overuse. For instance, restrictive transfusion strategies, which limit transfusions to patients with lower hemoglobin levels, have been shown to be effective and safe.
