Erythropoietin and desmopressin obviated transfusion in a thromboasthenic Jehovah's Witness undergoing scoliosis surgery
A 13-year-old female Jehovah's Witness with thromboasthenia was scheduled for scoliosis surgery. To reduce the risk of heterologous transfusion, she was given erythropoietin for 2 weeks preoperatively. Bleeding time and platelet dysfunction normalized during erythropoietin treatment, but the hemoglobin concentration increased only marginally. Desmopressin and tranexamic acid were given as cover fo
