PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Maj Andrew Beckett AU - Jeannie Callum AU - Luis Teodoro da Luz AU - Joanne Schmid AU - Christopher Funk AU - Col Elon Glassberg AU - Col Homer Tien TI - Fresh whole blood transfusion capability for Special Operations Forces AID - 10.1503/cjs.012614 DP - 2015 Jun 01 TA - Canadian Journal of Surgery PG - S153--S156 VI - 58 IP - 3 Suppl 3 4099 - http://canjsurg.ca/content/58/3_Suppl_3/S153.short 4100 - http://canjsurg.ca/content/58/3_Suppl_3/S153.full SO - CAN J SURG2015 Jun 01; 58 AB - Fresh whole blood (FWB) transfusion is an option for providing volume and oxygen carrying capacity to bleeding Special Operations soldiers who are injured in an austere environment and who are far from a regular blood bank. Retrospective data from recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan show an association between the use of FWB and survival. We reviewed the literature to document the issues surrounding FWB transfusion to Special Operations soldiers in the austere environment and surveyed the literature regarding best practice guidelines for and patient outcomes after FWB transfusions. Most literature regarding FWB transfusion is retrospective or historical. There is limited prospective evidence currently to change transfusion practice in tertiary care facilities, but FWB remains an option in the austere setting.