Autologous transfusion and the preservation of frozen red blood cells.

Freezing red blood cells for indefinite lengths of time for subsequent transfusion has become an accepted blood banking procedure. Its advantages over 35-day preserved citrated blood are reviewed and the technical aspects of freezing outlined. As the number of known hazards of homologous transfusion increases, the advantages of autologous transfusion are increasingly being recognized. The combination of frozen preservation and autologous transfusion is the ideal method of blood replacement. Plastic surgeons can frequently anticipate their blood needs in view of the large number of elective procedures, and should utilize this method of blood replacement.