Hospitals seek to limit use of transfusions

Rising blood costs and mounting safety concerns about transfusions are leading hospitals to adopt stricter measures to manage their blood supplies. A growing number of hospitals are developing guidelines for when transfusions are necessary, and they are making sure doctors are in compliance. Institutions also are increasingly checking patients for anemia before surgery and treating them with iron or red-blood-cell-boosting drugs to cut down on transfusions in the operating room.