• P Oetting, P Metz, J Lange, M A Ströhlein, and M M Heiss.
• Lehrstuhl für Chirurgie I, Klinik für Viszeral-, Gefäss- und Transplantationschirurgie, Universitätsklinikum Witten/Herdecke mit Sitz in Köln, Deutschland. oettingp@kliniken-koeln.de
• Chirurg. 2010 Nov 1;81(11):999-1004.

BackgroundThe need for red blood cell units in cancer surgery is increasing. The role of the better immunological options, such as preoperative blood donation or intraoperative autologous blood salvage is not known. The aim of this survey was to clarify the transfusion setting and options for cancer patients in Germany.MethodA questionnaire was send to 90 directors of surgical departments in Germany.ResultsA total of 60 directors answered the questionnaire. In most cases the blood loss is compensated by allogenic blood transfusions. The possibility of preoperative blood donation exists in 85% of the hospitals and is offered in 3% for cancer patients. The intraoperative blood salvage is possible in 93% of the hospitals and 10% use this procedure without an additional purifying process for cancer patients. Of the hospitals 31% are able to irradiate blood collected intraoperatively, but only 11% use this for cancer patients.ConclusionPerioperative blood loss is compensated by allogenic blood transfusion. The better immunological procedures, such as preoperative blood donation or intraoperative blood salvage, are not used because of the higher costs and the possible retransfusion of tumor cells.

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