Intrasurgical blood loss is commonly addressed by appropriately delivering donor blood to the patient, something that’s not without side effects and additional costs. Autotransfusion uses the patient’s own spilled blood recovered from the heart-lung machine; this has been an expensive solution, and prone to dangerous coagulation.
Researchers at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow have developed a new process for autotransfusions that just received regulatory approval in Europe. The HemoSep device that’s at the core of the process uses a special sponge and an agitator to concentrate blood and deliver it back to the patient. In a clinical trial in Turkey involving over 100 surgeries, the system proved its safety and effectiveness at reducing the amount of transfused donor blood.
The device has been licensed to Advancis Surgical Ltd. for commercialization and is expected to come to market later this year.
From the announcement:
Professor Serdar Gunaydin, Head of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Kirikkale where the trials were conducted, said: “The technology is a real step forward in the field of autotransfusion for cardiac surgery, being highly effective, easy to use and associated with a reduction in the need for donor transfusion and blood loss in these patients.
“In the climate of national blood product shortages and concern for disease transmission and immunosuppression, every effort should be made to optimise blood recovery and reduce allogeneic blood usage.
“The HemoSep technology has produced impressive results, it is the easiest method we have ever used. There is no interference with the ongoing operation and product is ready to use following a very short processing time. It quickly and safely recovers substantial proteins, clotting factors and cell concentrates for all types of cardiac procedures.
“We believe this new technology will be one of the essential components of the routine heart surgery in the near future. We even think this technique may be useful for blood preservation during transplantation, orthopedics and neurosurgery.”
Here’s a video report about the HemoSep from BBC:
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