Blood Conservation Program
Who Can Benefit from Blood Conservation?
Blood conservation can be beneficial for people with a variety of health concerns as well as those undergoing surgery, those whose religious beliefs prohibit transfusions and those who simply want to avoid a transfusion if possible.
Among those who may benefit most from blood conservation are:
People with medical conditions such as anemia
Anemia is a disorder that occurs when there is not enough hemoglobin in the blood. This may occur for a variety of reasons, including poor nutrition or bleeding or as a result of a disease process.
Patients who are anemic are at risk for transfusion. Here at Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH), anemia can be identified and treated using blood conservation methods put in place by your doctor. These methods and treatments help reduce your risk of transfusion and help you have better outcomes.
People undergoing elective surgery
All surgeries involve blood loss. But some surgeries are known to be high-blood-loss surgeries. With these surgeries, blood conservation methods may be particularly beneficial. They include:
- Orthopedic surgeries such as hip and knee replacement. At BMH, patients undergoing hip or knee replacement surgery are carefully screened for anemia and, in particular, iron-deficiency anemia, the most common type.
- This prescreening lab work is done, ideally, three to four weeks before elective surgery. This helps us identify anemia early on and allows us time to treat the anemia well in advance and raise your hemoglobin level to prepare you for surgery. A higher hemoglobin level before surgery helps reduce your risk of transfusion after surgery.
- If you are planning on having hip or knee replacement surgery or any high-blood-loss surgery, ask your doctor if blood conservation treatments may be right for you. We want you to go in to surgery at your best.
- Hysterectomy. Iron-deficiency anemia from chronic monthly blood loss is common in women who need a hysterectomy due to uterine dysfunction.
- At BMH, your doctors have the ability to identify and correct iron-deficiency anemia by replacing iron intravenously weeks prior to hysterectomy. This may be very effective in raising hemoglobin levels prior to surgery and reducing your risk of transfusion. You go into surgery healthier to give you better outcomes.
- In addition to treating anemia before hysterectomy, BMH surgeons may use the da Vinci Surgical System or laparoscopic surgery to reduce blood loss during surgery. Less blood loss during surgery greatly reduces your risk of transfusion.
- Ask your doctor if any of these treatments are right for you.
People whose religious beliefs prohibit blood transfusions
Here at BMH, we strive to respect our patients’ rights and beliefs. We take pride in treating our Jehovah’s Witness patients with appropriate, safe, effective blood alternatives.
If you are a Jehovah’s Witness and choose not to receive blood or blood products, notify your doctor. If you are coming to the hospital, please remember to bring a copy of your advance directive with you.
If you have any questions or concerns, contact the blood conservation coordinator at 843-522-5293 by email.
