Surgical operations, including more complex operations where a substantial amount of bleeding may occur, may require transfusions during the course of the surgery to maintain a sufficient blood volume and blood pressure. Since many blood-borne diseases may exist including hepatitis, cancer and HIV, it is desirable to not require transfusion from another person. Also, if blood or blood components from the same person can be used, the necessity to match blood factors can be eliminated.
These disadvantages of receiving transfusions from donors are overcome by self-donation prior to operations. However, operations involving transfusions are not always identified in advance and few patients take the time and effort to go through the procedure. Additionally, a patient may be weakened by removal of blood prior to an operation.
Autotransfusion, whereby blood retrieved from the patient during the operation is separated so that reusable portions can be reinserted into the patient, is an effective method of overcoming the problems with transfusions. Various autotransfusion type systems currently exist but are somewhat complex to operate. For example, some autotransfusion systems require the operator to memorize a series of system steps to insure that the operator performs operations in the proper sequential order. Failure to perform the step or to perform the step in the proper sequence may cause the system to shut down or may cause morbidity in the patient.
Additionally, it is highly useful to have a blood separation system that can efficiently separate platelet and plasma from waste products in the blood. A high degree of efficiency in obtaining platelets has not been previously achieved.
It is therefore desirable to have a blood separation system that is highly efficient in extracting platelets from the blood, extracting waste products from the blood, allowing performance of operations in a simple and easy manner that does not require extensive knowledge of the system and processes, and preventing inadvertent or accidental operation of the blood separation device.