Allogeneic Blood Transfusion for Surgical and Traumatic Hemorrhage

Blood transfusion is an essential treatment for patients suffering blood loss associated with trauma and surgery. This chapter discusses the goal and rationale for allogeneic red cell transfusion in surgical and traumatic hemorrhage in a hospital setting. A large number of patients have now been enrolled in clinical trials. This experience provides high quality evidence to inform the transfusion decision. A restrictive transfusion has been established to be safe in adult and pediatric patients in many clinical settings. The criteria used for making the decision to transfuse and current clinical practice guidelines and evidence-based recommendations are provided.