Transfusion Medicine — Blood Transfusion

Blood transfusion and blood conservation (techniques or strategies to avoid the need for blood) are complementary activities that constitute the clinical arena of transfusion medicine. Recent improvements in the safety of the blood supply and the increasing costs associated with transfusion therapies have led to a reevaluation of the clinical practices of blood transfusion and blood conservation. Among the issues that have been reevaluated are the threshold for transfusion at which the benefits outweigh the risks and the identification of patients most likely to benefit from blood conservation. This review summarizes recent developments in transfusion medicine that have affected the . . .