ABSTRACT
A pre-operative autologous blood donation programme was started in 1988 and made available to all doctors offering elective surgical procedures. Two hundred and seventy-seven (277) patients presented for autologous donation over a five-year period. Nine point four per cent were rejected because of low haemoglobin (<10.5 g/dl). The single biggest user of the programme was the Princess Elizabeth Hospital for handicapped persons. Patients undergoing orthopaedic procedures gave 50 per cent of the donations, and ranged in age from 10 to 73 years. The oldest donor was a 73-year-old man who had an abdominal aortic aneurysm replaced. Gynaecological surgeons in the public and private sectors together provided 43.9 percent of donors, 3.6 percent of these underwent elective Caesarean Section, each donating one unit of blood at 36 weeks. Patients undergoing general surgical procedures comprised 10.4 percent of donors. Autologous donors contributed 1.3 percent of the total number of donations over this period