Autotransfusion

Autotransfusion is a process wherein a person receives their own blood for a transfusion, instead of banked allogenic (separate-donor) blood. There are two main kinds of autotransfusion: Blood can be autologously "pre-donated" (termed so despite "donation" not typically referring to giving to one's self) before a surgery, or alternatively, it can be collected during and after the surgery using an intraoperative blood salvage device (such as a Cell Saver or CATS). The latter form of autotransfusion is utilized in surgeries where there is expected a large volume blood loss - e.g. aneurysm, total joint replacement, and spinal surgeries.