Novel blood management system reduces costs and risks of allogeneic transfusions
Ecomed Solutions has launched the HEMAsavR, a new device and option for blood capture and transfer to help medical professionals reduce costly and complex allogeneic blood transfusions. The HEMAsavR is a unique sterile collection and transfer device that does not require specialized resources for collection, says the company. This allows clinicians to economically collect more viable sterile and anti-coagulated blood for evaluation for cell salvage processing and return to the patient.
“Allogeneic transfusions are among the costliest contributors to healthcare expenditures,” said David Yurek, CEO of Ecomed Solutions in a press statement.
Yurek also demonstrated the HEMAsavR during the AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo in April where he met up with Healthcare Purchasing News to discuss the current state of blood transfusion process and why his company’s innovation provides a viable alternative to traditional methods.
Yurek explained first that donor blood is not only difficult to obtain but also increases risk of infection and longer length of stay for patients who receive it. According to the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), 11 percent of all hospitals stays with a procedure include a transfusion and that nearly 14 million allogeneic red cell units are transfused per year at a direct cost to hospitals of over $3 billion. These transfusions can result in longer hospital stays, infection and even patient death.
“Reducing the need for allogeneic transfusions has a dramatic impact on healthcare costs and patient outcomes. Further, as our healthcare system is strained by shrinking donor pools, HEMAsavR can reduce that burden and improve care by providing a patient’s own blood back to them,” Yurek said, noting that the system also offers a critical-care solution when treating patients who refuse transfusions for religious or other reasons.
“HEMAsavR allows simple and economical collection of shed blood to be evaluated for processing and return to a patient. This is accomplished by color coded ports, simple design and a Sampling port,” he told HPN. “With HEMAsavR, a sample of blood may be drawn, and a point-of-care lab device may be used to determine exactly how much blood is in HEMAsavR. Current practice clinician must estimate blood loss (EBL or Estimated Blood Loss). HEMAsavR improves decision making by enabling clinicians to determine how many RBCs were lost and support decision to process.”
The HEMAsavR is universally compatible with surgical suction and ATS systems, making it easy to integrate into current protocols. The device is especially beneficial to hospitals that perform Cardiac, Vascular, Orthopedic, Organ Transplant, Trauma, OB/GYN, Thoracic, General, Neurosurgery and Urology procedures.
The system is also “fantastic for pediatrics,” Yurek emphasized. “The HEMAsavR optimizes the amount of blood available to be returned to pediatric patients by eliminating hold up volume; traditional reservoirs were designed for adult cardiopulmonary bypass procedures and have large filters with a large surface area that can reach 200mL.”
Valerie J. Dimond | Managing Editor
Valerie J. Dimond was previously Managing Editor of Healthcare Purchasing News.
