ABSTRACT
Where there is an ongoing blood loss in a patient who has not responded to 2000 ml of crystalloid, immediate transfusion of blood is essential. Where possible previously ordered cross-matched blood should be used but, if there is none available, ‘type-specific’ non-cross-matched blood is preferable to the use of group O blood. However, in an emergency it is far better to give O-negative non-cross-matched blood than to wait.
