What quality assurance indicators are best to use for perioperative blood salvage?

CBBS e-Network Forum - Sacramento, CA, USA

A colleague reports that in the early 1990's, she helped to set up a perioperative blood salvage program. As part of that program's quality control they measured the total protein of the final salvaged products. They also assessed hematocrit of the final product to assess the machine's abilility to concentrate red cells. She is now in a new job situation where the QA entails measuring hematocrit, measuring changes in electrolytes, as well as the color of the contents of the waste line (subjective information). She has reviewed the AABB standards and some literature, and has found no consensus as to the best quality indicators to measure. She is curious to learn know how other institutions approach perioperative blood salvage quality assurance.