Autotransfusion in hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma

: Experimental data of autotransfusion in hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma and clinical data from forty-eight patients were analyzed. By a density gradient medium, cancer cells banded at a lower density (1.056 g/ml: mean) than red blood cells (1.105 g/ml: mean). The centrifuge autotransfusor separated the red blood cells from cancer cells and all sections of cell blocks of the blood harvested intraoperatively in 20 cases revealed no malignant cells. The average requirement of bank blood was significantly reduced in these patients than in patients without autotransfusion during one year before, 1573 ml to 478 ml (whole blood of concentrated red blood cells) (p less than 0.05). These findings indicate that autotransfusion in hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma is safe and practical.