A Last Resort When There is No Blood: Experiences and Perceptions of Intraoperative Autotransfusion Among Medical Doctors Deployed to Resource-Limited Settings

Background Four and a half million people die globally every year due to traumatic injuries. One major cause of preventable death is bleeding. Blood for transfusion is often unavailable in resource-limited settings, where a majority of trauma deaths occur. Intraoperative autotransfusion (IAT) has been proposed as a safe and feasible lifesaving alternative to allogeneic blood transfusion. However, there is limited knowledge regarding its use among doctors working for international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) in resource-limited settings. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of IAT among INGO-affiliated medical doctors with clinical experience in resource-limited settings. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews via telephone or Skype with 12 purposefully sampled surgeons and anaesthesiologists. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using content analysis. Results We identified three main themes relating to IAT and bottlenecks preventing the scale-up of its use: variation in techniques and systems, contextual factors, and individual medical doctor factors. The participants gave detailed reports of missed opportunities for usage of IAT in resource-limited settings. Bottlenecks included the lack of simple and cost-effective products, limited availability of protocols in the field, and insufficient knowledge and experience of IAT. Conclusions The participants found that simple IAT is under-utilised in resource-limited settings. Missed opportunities to use IAT were mainly associated with armed conflict settings and obstetrical emergencies. In order to meet the need for IAT in resource-limited settings, we suggest further consideration of the identified bottlenecks.