Trigger Factors in Transfusion Medicine

Front Cover
C.Th. Smit Sibinga, P.C. Das, E.L. Snyder
Springer Science & Business Media, 1996 M10 31 - 260 pages
Transfusion medicine is an excellent way for the healthy community to help the sick. However, service providers and patients have much to gain from the establishment of guidelines concerning when and how it is used. An important first step would be to introduce informed consent for transfusion recipients. Discussions with blood banks and assessment of clinical demand would also be necessary, taking into account the needs of patients and physicians, and the availability of products. Unfortunately, the efficacy and safety of transfusion products can be difficult to ascertain. Furthermore, although major advances have been made in safety, the risks of giving and receiving blood are still seen as high. It is vital to learn what underlies that perception and how to counter it. The policies and protocols used to establish surgical criteria for blood transfusions should be explored. Finally, clinical audits can help evaluate the risk:benefit ratio of transfusion; they may be carried out by hospital transfusion committees but are likely to be more successful with the support of national and international legislative and regulatory bodies. The implementation of appropriate initiatives now will improve the outlook for the future of transfusion medicine, perhaps with ex-vivo expanded haemopoietic cell therapy as the next milestone. All these key points and controversies are explored in this book, which paints a broad picture of the current status and future trends in transfusion medicine.

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Contents

Communication Mechanisms Between the Bedside and the Blood Bank
13
The Process of Clinical Decision making in Blood Transfusion
35
Discussion
47
Factors Effecting the Clinical Efficacy of Blood Transfusion
65
What Qualities and Characteristics Do Justify the Need for
83
The Clinical Relevance of Clotting Factor Characteristics
91
Acceptance and Communication of Risks
115
How Far Should We Go?
133
The Role of Protocols and Documentation
161
Discussion
193
The Clinical Consultative Role of the Blood Bank in Transfusion
213
Clinical Practice
241
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