Removing, Storing Patients Blood Before Liver Surgery Helps Avoid Transfusions [Video]

Key Takeaways

Taking a blood donation from a patient at the start of their liver surgery reduces the risk of transfusionThe practice cuts in half the risk of transfusion, and could prevent transfusion in one of every 11 liver surgery patientsThe donation lowers blood pressure in the liver, and the blood is given back either during or after surgery

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 11, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Canadian Rowan Ladd scratched her head when doctors said they might bank a blood donation from her at the start of her 2022 liver surgery, but she figured it couldn’t hurt.

“You’re told before surgery that the liver is so full of blood vessels that there are risks of major bleeding,” Ladd, a 46-year-old Ottawa mother of two, said in a news release. “I thought it was great that researchers were trying things to reduce those risks.”

It turns out this blood draw slashes in half …