Al,
It is a possibility, but there are a lot of variables to consider. One of the things that has to be looked at is the "patient as a whole." Weight, height, age, duration of anemia, etc. . . . Patients have been treated with Hgb' s as low as 2 & 3 and had successful outcomes. Quick action and using all available permissible tools and protocols could turn the patient around. When you are told that a heart attack might occur you might want to say, "Blood is not an option acceptable to this patient, so let's get started on what we can do." Encourage physicians to treat patients proactively instead of with the fatalistic view that if blood can't be used, then nothing else will work. Please call a "Blood Conservation Program" in your area. Most of us have physicians readily available for consultation to other physicians. Then they can speak "colleague to colleague."