Many today view bloodless surgery as the preferred treatment and not as a last resort as it was viewed in years past. In many cases the mortality rate of those who do not take blood during a surgery compared with those who do, is the same. Moreover, when a patient refuses a blood transfusion, they will be spared the possible postoperative complications and infections that a blood transfusion brings into the equation. This was apparent in the 1970's when hepatitis began to spread rapidly, and doctors began looking for alternatives to blood transfusions. These alternatives were also sought after on into the 1990's when the AIDS epidemic broke out. Doctors have now successfully found ways to apply bloodless surgery techniques during operations that could only be done with the help of a blood transfusion in the past. Some of the techniques and procedures that are being used in the bloodless medical field are found in the "Procedures" section above.