Transfusion and Liver Transplantation: From Different Perspectives
Program Code: 9213-TC
Sunday, October 25, 2009
10:30 AM to 12:00 PM (ET)

MODERATOR
Brenda Grossman, MD, MPH, Washington University School of Medicine

SPEAKERS
Glenn Ramsey, MD, Northwestern University
Kian Modanlou, MD, FACS, Methodist Transplant Institute/University of Tennessee
M. Susan Mandell, MD, PhD, University of Colorado

DESCRIPTION
Liver transplantation is a complex procedure which has historically relied heavily on the blood bank. Today, the transfusion service continues to play an essential role in a successful liver transplant program. This session will focus on the role of blood transfusions in the setting of liver transplantation from the views of a transfusion medicine expert, liver transplant surgeon and liver transplant anesthesiologist. Topics to be discussed include UNOS ABO safety policies, organ processing, the use of A2 livers in O recipients, the blood bank's role as a repository of allogeneic blood vessels, clinical and laboratory predictors of blood use, the impact of receiving blood on the transplant recipient's outcome, and new methods used to reduce blood loss and thus the use of blood components.