Columbus Dispatch: OhioHealth Grant Medical Center Offers Bloodless Surgery to Patients in Need

Performing a surgery without using blood products – seems challenging, right? Not at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center.

OhioHealth Grant Medical Center is one of two hospitals in Columbus (and the only adult hospital) with a program that offers  alternatives for patients who choose not to receive blood transfusions or treatment with blood products, mostly for religious reasons. Jehovah’s Witnesses, a religious group who says Biblical teachings command them to abstain from blood products, are some of the primary users of this program.

“We want them to know we understand their wishes for no blood and that we will work with other methods other than blood transfusions to treat them,” Norman Smyke, MD, medical director of Grant’s Center for Blood Conservation, told Columbus Dispatch reporter Megan Henry in a recent interview.

Blood transfusions are a standard practice used to help replace blood that’s lost through surgery. OhioHealth’s blood conservation program uses a strategy that minimizes blood loss while ensuring the proper precautions and safety measures are taking place before, during and after surgery.

Each patient receives specific medications and supplements to help improve blood oxygen levels and lessen bleeding both before and after undergoing a bloodless surgery. New technology is used during surgery that maximizes use of the patient’s own blood, like the cell-salvage machine, a tool that collects lost blood, washes and filters it so that it can be given back to the patient. These new techniques avoid potential for issues like allergic reactions and contamination.

Though it started in 2006, Grant now sees close to 90 patients each month through its blood conservation program, according to results from last year. For these patients, this program is the answered prayer so many in our community need.

To read the full story by the Columbus Dispatch, click on the image of the newspaper below.

To find out more about OhioHealth’s blood conservation program, click here.