Figure 1.

Schematic representation of a blood salvage system with a double suction setup to reduce the possible contamination of the blood suctioned from the surgical field¹³⁸. In this setup, one suction line is connected to the collection reservoir and used for the aspiration of blood to be sent back to the patient, while the other (dotted line) is connected to the regular wall suction and used for the aspiration of the contaminant. For Jehovah’s Witnesses, the machine is set up and operated with an “in-continuity” mode¹³⁷. This means that the whole circuit is run through with saline and the re-transfusion bag is connected to the intravenous cannula before starting the salvage suction, thereby establishing a continuous circuit between the blood lost and the recipient vein. The dashed line represents infusion sent back to the patient, which is primed with saline before starting to complete continuity of the circuit.

RBC: Processed red blood cells; F: Leucocyte depletion filter.