Blood Management Services Debuts

At Bridgeport Hospital

BRIDGEPORT — Blood Management Services is the new name for Bridgeport Hospital’s Bloodless Medicine & Surgery Program. The name change signifies a broader acceptance of blood conservation strategies, including transfusion-free approaches to a variety of medical and surgical procedures.

“Physicians and patients alike are changing the way they think about transfusion-free medicine as a strictly religious or personal choice,” explained BMS coordinator David Gonzalez. “The groundswell of current clinical evidence clearly points to alternatives to blood transfusions as sound, evidence-based medical practice from a quality and safety standpoint.”

Groups such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose faith discourages transfusions of donated blood and blood products, were once thought of as the primary users of transfusion-free techniques. Now, Mr Gonzalez said, national regulatory organizations such as the Joint Commission are preparing to endorse blood management performance measures as part of a new standard for patient safety.

He said this will impact transfusion-free medicine in a positive way by raising awareness about its effectiveness among clinicians and the public.

In a further commitment to integrate blood management into mainstream approaches to patient care, Bridgeport Hospital has also named cardiologist Gilead Lancaster, MD, as its new BMS medical director. Dr Lancaster also retains his position as director of noninvasive cardiology at the hospital.

“Blood management is an ever-growing part of patient care,” said Dr Lancaster. “For example, we can cleanse and recycle a patient’s own blood with the same technology used in open-heart surgery without having to potentially expose them to donor blood. In addition, new medications are available that can stimulate the production of a patient’s own blood cells, helping to minimize and often eliminate exposure to blood transfusion altogether.”

For more information about Blood Management Services at Bridgeport Hospital, call 800-NO-BLOOD (800-662-5663).