Relatively inexpensive interventions can have a prompt and dramatic impact on reducing blood wastage with regard to both cost and resource savings.

Pretransfusion testing is reviewed for the anesthesiologist, with an emphasis on the electronic crossmatch and transfusion of uncrossmatched erythrocytes when testing is incomplete.

The concept of whole blood (WB) as a treatment modality for trauma patients requiring transfusion therapy is not new. Successfully employed in the early 20 century, WB was the product of choice for military trauma resuscitation until the advent of component therapy changed the landscape of transfusion medicine. However, the recognition of the success of WB in the military operational setting has provided some enthusiasm to explore its revival as a cold-stored option in the civilian trauma resuscitation sector. Concerns continue to exist over potential limitations for its application in regards to the efficacy of platelets after cold storage, the risk of haemolytic transfusion reactions following the transfusion of un-cross-matched WB and the logistical issues for civilian blood banks in providing WB. This review aims to reconcile these concerns with data available in the literature, with a view to establishing that there is in vitro evidence supporting the haemostatic effects of cold-stored WB as a potential therapeutic option in both the pre-hospital and in-hospital civilian trauma resuscitation settings.