Blood transfusion: preoperative considerations and complications

Introduction In the USA, blood transfusion is the most common procedure performed in hospitals [1]. Component therapy is the preferred method of blood administration, as it allows blood transfusion to be individualized to the patient's specific needs. Blood components include red cells, platelets, plasma, and cryoprecipitate. Although transfusion is often essential to effective patient care, it is not without risk. Blood transfusion is associated with multiple adverse outcomes, including both non-infectious and infectious complications. Thus, benefits and risks of transfusion must be considered for each patient. Maximum surgical blood order A maximum surgical blood order schedule (MSBOS) is used to predict surgical blood needs and to reserve blood products for transfusion for surgery. A MSBOS is created by reviewing institutional blood utilization for each type of surgical procedure and usually set at the number of products required for 80–90% of the procedures. The MSBOS will dictate if either a type and screen (T/S) or a type and cross (T/C) is indicated, as well as the number and type of blood products to be reserved for a particular surgical procedure.