Patient Blood Management: Honoring Wishes, Providing Options

About 18 million blood transfusions occur each year in the U.S. Transfusions save lives every day. For trauma victims to newborn babies to cancer patients, transfusions have tremendous benefit.

But not all transfusions are necessary, and some studies point to unneeded blood use.

Behr says LVHN’s transfusions are much more targeted now. “We are giving the minimum dose required and waiting until the patient truly needs transfusion therapy in far more cases than ever before,” he says.

As an example, Behr says, a patient transfused five years ago had a 50% chance of receiving two or more units of red blood cells versus just one unit. Now, the frequency is down to 20-22%.

“Clinicians are more often giving a patient one unit and then assessing the situation, rather than going immediately to multiple units,” Behr says. “It’s a shift that’s having a positive impact across the board.”