Abstract
We conducted a survey of the current state of autologous blood transfusion (ABT) by sending a questionnaire to institutes in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, that were supplied allogeneic blood products in 2011. Surveys were sent to 176 institutes, with 103 responding, for a response rate of 58.5%. Thirty-five (34.0%) institutes performed ABT in 2011. The median number of beds was 212, with a mode of 100-199 beds, suggesting that ABT was performed even in small-scale institutes as practice. Most institutes had prepared standard operating procedures for autologous blood collection, with 48.6% of institutes further having procedures for adverse events prepared. Phlebotomy was performed at outpatient clinics (48.6%) or hospital wards (25.7%) by doctors in charge (54.3%). Although most institutes considered oral iron supplementation, 26% selected intravenous injection first. Several institutes did not follow the revised guidelines for antiseptic methods. Collected blood was stored in blood transfusion centers or clinical laboratories managed by technicians, and 27.3% of institutes did not perform any testing before ABT. Overall, we were able to identify several points to be fine-tuned, including preparing procedures for adverse events and specifying the type of iron supplementation, antiseptic method, and compatibility testing at transfusion. To improve the quality of our ABTs, we must address these issues through activities of joint regional transfusion committees.
