Passengers and Hitchhikers

A 54-year-old woman with hepatitis C cirrhosis, status post deceased-donor orthotopic liver transplant 14 days ago, returns for outpatient follow-up with complaints of excessive fatigue, lightheadedness, and dyspnea on exertion. The patient had experienced an uneventful postoperative course and was discharged from the hospital in good condition on postoperative day #4. Laboratory studies show that the hemoglobin (Hgb) has decreased from 9.1 (hospital discharge) to 5.1 g/dL. A type and screen sample (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid [EDTA] anticoagulant) and a request for two units of red blood cells (RBCs) are submitted to the blood bank.