Intended for healthcare professionals

Letters Harmful medical overuse

Transfusing wisely

BMJ 2014; 349 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g4701 (Published 22 July 2014) Cite this as: BMJ 2014;349:g4701
  1. Stephen P Hibbs, academic foundation doctor1,
  2. Michael F Murphy, professor of blood transfusion medicine1
  1. 1NHS Blood and Transplant, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
  1. stephen.hibbs{at}spc.ox.ac.uk

Wide ranging campaigns to reduce medical excess, such as Choosing Wisely and Too Much Medicine, are very encouraging.1 The benefits of liberal transfusion of blood products are often overemphasised and risks underestimated. Initiatives to reduce inappropriate usage of blood products, such as Better Blood Transfusion, have contributed to improvements, such as more than a 20% reduction …

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