Autotransfusion, an experience of seventy six cases.

The use of autotransfusion with a centrifugal cell washer in a series of 76 cases is reviewed. The requirement for bank blood is reduced in patients with major operative haemorrhage, although it does not appear to be able to provide the main source of blood replacement in such cases. The major impact of autotransfusion may lie in reducing the amount of blood that needs to be crossmatched for elective operations. Nevertheless in certain cases its use can be life saving.