The Type, Screen and Save Policy and the abbreviated crossmatch procedure for blood issue were instituted in May 1993 at the Queen Mary Hospital. These crossmatch policies were found to be safe, with only one haemolytic transfusion reaction occurring out of 21 524 units transfused (0.005%). Thesepolicies also significantly reduced blood wastage by more than 50 units monthly and improved the crossmatch/transfusion ratio from 2.42 to 1.67. They allowed for efficient utilisation of blood stocks and reallocation of manpower for the investigation of complex serological problems.