Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Thomasville Medical Center, Forsyth Medical Center, and Medical Park Hospital are starting the region's first blood conservation program with the goal of eventually making transfusion-free procedures the standard for most patients.
The transfusion-free technique has been used during surgery on Jehovah's Witnesses and others who do not accept blood transfusions or blood products because of their religious or other personal beliefs.
Compared to traditional surgical procedures which use blood transfusions to boost blood clotting platelets, blood conservation uses medications to strengthen the production of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets in the patients' blood prior to surgery so it can be mechanically circulated during surgery. Harmonic scalpels, lasers and other devices are also used during surgeries to reduce blood loss. The Blood Conservation Program is designed to eliminate the need for donor blood or blood products.
Although this technology has existed for decades, Thomasville Medical Center and its sister hospitals are the first health system in the region to offer a program for patients who wish to avoid the use of donor blood during medical and surgical procedures.
Benefits of transfusion-free surgery include decreased exposure to blood-borne illnesses, shorter hospital stays, faster recuperation times and lower overall risk of infection.
