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Autotransfusion
Explained

Consider Autotransfusion from
Epic Cardiovascular Services

Epic Cardiovascular Services has been performing autotransfusion for over 20 years. Epic Cardiovascular Services has blood processing devices that collect blood that is normally lost during and after surgery. Epic Cardiovascular Services filters your blood, separates the components, washes the red blood cells and then returns them to you at the point of care. Once enough of your blood is collected, it takes only a few minutes for a Epic Cardiovascular Services Technician to process and return the blood that was lost. This is your blood, collected from you and returned at the point of care.

Autotransfusion

Frequently Asked Questions

What is donated blood transfusion?

This is the receipt of blood during surgery that was previously donated by another person and stored in a blood bank. For years, this was the most common method of replacing blood lost during surgery.

What are the risks associated with blood transfusion during surgery?

Whether it is an elective or an emergency surgery, you may experience blood loss and require a transfusion. Blood transfusions can involve potential risks such as contracting HIV, Hepatitis, West Nile and other transmittable diseases, or having an allergic reaction to the donated blood. These complications can be reduced or eliminated with Epic Cardiovascular Services Autotransfusion.

By far the safest option, autotransfusion has been used routinely for the last 30 years. Today, autotransfusion is done literally thousands of times a day. It is considered to be a “standard of care” to avoid donated blood transfusions during and after surgery.

Why consider autotransfusion?

As more screening of the blood is done to ensure the safety of the blood supply, the donor pool is getting smaller.

At the same time, donated supplies are in great demand, causing a strain on the donor system. With the fear of HIV, hepatitis, and West Nile transmission, people are looking for alternative ways to obtain safe blood during surgical procedures.

By receiving your own blood, the amount of donated blood products you may need could be reduced or eliminated.

Consider this; for every unit of donated blood you receive, your immune system is compromised more and more. This reduction in immune response reduces your ability to fight off infection thus increasing the amount of time it may take you to recover from a surgical procedure.

What types of surgery can use autotransfusion?

The majority of surgical procedures, including but not limited to vascular surgery, spinal surgery, hip and knee replacement, gynecology and trauma cases, can benefit from autotransfusion.

Can I get AIDS or Hepatitis from having autotransfusion?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Your own blood is the safest blood you can receive. There is no chance of acquiring a transmittable disease by receiving your own blood.

How do I know if I can have autotransfusion during my surgery?

ASK YOUR PHYSICIAN. Often times we can set up a “standby” system until the extent of surgical blood loss is known. If there is a sufficient amount of blood loss, we will then process and return it to you. Autotransfusion may not be necessary in all surgical procedures. Again, ask your physician or surgeon.

What about emergency surgery?

Epic Cardiovascular Services Technicians are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Our technicians are intensely trained in blood conservation.

Is autotransfusion expensive?

Our goal is to keep the cost as low as possible to ensure that more patients can benefit from our service. By contracting with the hospital, we are able to provide the technician, supplies, equipment and the highest quality of care that you and your surgeon expect. Because our service fees are not based on the quantity of blood returned, it is typically much less expensive than receiving donated blood.

How expensive is donated blood?

Recent studies show that the fully loaded cost of a unit of donated blood is over $900/unit.

Pre-donation versus autotransfusion?

Over the years, pre-donation has become a common but expensive procedure. A national survey recently reported that pre-donated blood costs the patient between $400 – $800 per unit! To pre-donate your blood requires several phone calls and often requires several visits to a blood center. Autotransfusion is much less expensive and does not require significant pre-planning. Your surgeon only has to make one phone call to Epic Cardiovascular Services.