UPMC Patient Blood Management Program
Patient blood management is a patient-oriented approach to avoiding unnecessary blood transfusions. With patient blood management, multiple strategies to reduce or eliminate the need for transfusions are employed.
While patient blood management results in decreased transfusions, transfusions are still reserved as an option to be used when necessary in the patient’s care.
Most patients are willing to provide consent for a potentially life-saving blood transfusion. At the same time, these patients would hope to avoid an unnecessary blood transfusion. Taking steps to minimize or avoid transfusion, if possible, is known as patient blood management.
Our six-point patient blood management plan focuses on ways to reduce blood transfusions. UPMC physicians, nurses, administrators, and support personnel work together to improve patient care by implementing these blood management techniques.
For people who are unable to have blood transfusions, the Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at UPMC offers guidance to doctors and their patients on blood management strategies.