Clinical coagulation tests have often been viewed as predictors of whether a patient will or will not bleed when challenged with surgery or other invasive procedures. Thus, many clinicians feel compelled to try to "normalize" coagulation function prophylactically in non-bleeding patients. This is often not indicated and exposes recipients unnecessarily to the side-effects of transfusion as well as wasting resources and possibly delaying needed therapy. This course will help attendees understand the limitations of current laboratory testing in evaluating hemostatic function, and present more scientifically based strategies for directing transfusion of blood components. It will also provide information to assist in convincing clinicians to change some long-standing, but poorly validated practices.