Autologous blood transfusion following total knee arthroplasty: is it always necessary?

A retrospective study of 85 patients undergoing primary total knee replacement (TKR), who also received autologous blood transfusion (ABT) to compensate for the perioperative blood loss. In our series 16.4% of the patients needed allogenic blood transfusion. Of the remaining 83.4% only 49.5% received autologous transfusion. Autologous transfusion was withheld in 34.1% of cases either because the blood volume was inadequate or because the collection time exceeded the recommended time limit. The mean haemoglobin (Hb) level with or without autologous transfusion was 10 g, raising the question of the necessity of using autologous transfusion in primary total TKR.