How does blood salvage during surgery return lost blood to a patient?

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Blood transfusion — blood transfusion Depiction of a direct blood transfusion performed in 1882.

During surgery, intraoperative blood salvage serves as a form of autologous transfusion, allowing a patient to receive their own blood back rather than relying on donor supplies.

The process functions through a specialized device that recovers blood shed during the procedure. This blood undergoes the following steps:

Anticoagulation: The recovered blood is treated to prevent clotting.
Centrifugation: The blood is processed in a centrifuge to concentrate the red blood cells.
Washing: The cells are washed within a sterile centrifuge bowl to ensure they are clean and safe for reinfusion.

Once these steps are complete, the resulting product—consisting primarily of washed red blood cells—can be rapidly infused back into the patient.1