A Blood Conservation Approach to Peri-Transplant Care Informed by Successful Heart Transplantation in a Jehovah ’s Witness

Introduction: Temporary circulatory support (TCS) is increasingly used to bridge patients to heart transplantation (HT). TCS can cause hemolysis and thrombocytopenia, and obligates anticoagulation use, increasing bleeding risk. Jehovah ’s Witnesses (JW) often decline blood products, challenging the use of TCS and precluding HT at many centers. Here, we present the case of a JW patient who underwent bloodless HT after a period of TCS and describe a new, broadly applicable peri-transplant blood conservation protocol.
Source: The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation - Category: Transplant Surgery Authors: Source Type: research