Authors: Gross I, Shore-Lesserson L, Farmer SL
Anesthesia & Analgesia ():10.1213/ANE.0000000000007692, August 08, 2025.
This editorial addresses the persistent challenges in implementing patient blood management (PBM) programs worldwide, despite strong evidence supporting their ability to improve patient outcomes, reduce transfusion-related risks, and conserve blood resources. The authors reference the WHO’s 2021 PBM Policy Brief and 2025 guidance, emphasizing the need to move from recommendations to widespread clinical practice.
Key barriers to PBM adoption include entrenched transfusion culture, lack of standardized implementation guidelines, infrastructure and logistical constraints, and resistance to change—particularly in systems with hierarchical medical cultures. These obstacles affect both high- and middle-income countries.
The authors call for a global shift in healthcare systems to prioritize PBM, guided by WHO recommendations and informed by recent high-impact strategies. They stress that real change requires overcoming cultural resistance, addressing logistical barriers, and embedding PBM into routine clinical practice to improve patient safety and health system sustainability.
Thank you to Anesthesia & Analgesia for allowing the use of this article.