The effect of recombinant human erythropoietin therapy on red cell expansion during autologous blood donation.

As the result of the institution of coordinated programs involving regional blood centers, hospital blood banks, information services, and physicians, preoperative autologous blood donation, a previously underutilized practice, has become a standard of care in a number of elective surgical procedures. In addition, the administration of recombinant human erythropoietin has been shown to facilitate the collection of autologous blood from patients scheduled for elective orthopaedic surgery. An analysis of the findings in a study of 263 orthopaedic surgical patients in which the relationship between autologous blood ordering, collection and storage, and subsequent blood transfusion was studied indicates that both blood ordering and blood procurement practices are significant factors with regard to allogeneic blood exposure.