Study seems to support liberal transfusion strategy

“We have shown that this strategy may increase the number of deaths in cardiac surgery. This was the largest randomized trial ever conducted in the UK in a surgical or cardiac surgery population. It was the largest trial ever conducted that has considered indications for transfusion in cardiac surgery, and recruited over twice the number of patients recruited in all the previous trials put together. It . . .  recruited patients from the majority of [National Health Service] cardiac surgery centers in the UK and therefore reflects current UK practice and is relevant to UK patients.”