[Autologous transfusion and hemoglobin SC disease].

Three autologous blood units were transfused during elective orthopaedic surgery in a patient with undiagnosed haemoglobin SC disease. The packed red blood cells had been stored at 4 degrees C on SAG-M under standard conditions for 10 to 31 days. There was no evidence of adverse clinical reactions during the perioperative period. Six months later, a blood unit was collected at the initial step of an exchange transfusion in the same patient. Haemolysis was moderate after a 12-day-storage period and more significant after 32 days. This observation, as some other case reports, suggest that autologous blood transfusion may be considered for haemorrhagic surgery in selected patients with sickle cell disease.