Introduction:  Blood transfusion is associated with adverse clinical and surgical outcomes. Strategies like the Patient Blood Management program, which includes blood cell salvage, contribute to reducing the use of blood components. Blood cell salvage is very useful in heart surgeries where the patient’s blood loss can be massive.

Objective:  The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of using the blood cell salvage in the intraoperative and postoperative periods (up to 24 hours) on the hemoglobin and hematocrit values, transfusion of red blood cells, infection rates, and postoperative length of stay in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Methods:  Forty-one patients who underwent cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass according to the inclusion criteria were selected in an observational study and separated into two groups: with the use of the blood cell salvage group (BCS, n = 21) and without the use of the blood cell salvage (WBCS, n = 20).

Results:  Patients in the group using blood cell salvage had higher postoperative hemoglobin (P = 0.018) and postoperative hematocrit levels (P = 0.009), lower consumption of red blood cells in the postoperative period and hospital discharge (P < 0.001), shorter postoperative length of stay (P = 0.020), and lower infection rates (P = 0.009).

Conclusion:  Patient Blood Management strategies, particularly the use of blood cell salvage in the intraoperative and immediate postoperative periods of patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, are associated with less use of blood components and consequently better clinical outcomes.