Cell-saver program minimizes blood loss during surgery, allows outpatient procedures

A method called the cell-saver program collects, cleans and returns a patient’s blood lost during a surgery to avoid blood transfusions, according to a July 27 report from FOX/ABC affiliate WFVX.

Surgeons extract patients’ blood using suction, and the blood enters the cell-saver machine to be spun and processed. Once the blood is cleaned, it enters a re-infuse bag and is readministered to the patient. 

The Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, based in Bangor, has been using the method for almost 20 years and claims it allows for more outpatient procedures. 

“A patient sometimes, if their blood level drops a little bit, they have to stay the night. We’re able to give back their blood, so they can go home that same surgery,” Jon Seifert, a patient blood management educator at Northern Light EMMC, told WFVX.

The program was initially launched by EMMC cardiac nurses, but the center recently expanded the program by training its anesthesia technicians.