The age of stored red blood cell concentrates at the time of transfusion

N J H Raat; F Berends; A J Verhoeven; D de Korte; C Ince

doi:10.1111/j.1365-3148.2005.00606.x

The age of stored red blood cell concentrates at the time of transfusion

Transfus Med. 2005 Oct;15(5):419-23. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3148.2005.00606.x.

Authors

N J H Raat¹, F Berends, A J Verhoeven, D de Korte, C Ince

Affiliation

¹ Department of Physiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. n.j.raat@amc.uva.nl

PMID: 16202057
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3148.2005.00606.x

Abstract

In the past decade, studies suggesting a reduced oxygen delivery by stored red blood cell concentrates (RBCCs) have initiated a discussion about the use of fresh versus old blood. We determined whether old RBCCs represent a significant part of the total of RBCCs issued. The age of RBCCs at the time of transfusion was determined in 74 084 units during a 5-year period in the Academic Medical Center, a main Dutch University Hospital. The mean (+/-SD) storage time of the total number of transfused RBCC was 19.4 +/- 7.0 days, and 37% were older than 3 weeks. As more than one-third of the transfused RBCC units are stored for longer than 3 weeks, the research examining differences in oxygen delivery between fresh and stored RBCC is relevant for packed RBC transfusion practice.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Blood Preservation* / methods
Erythrocyte Transfusion* / methods
Erythrocytes*
Female
Humans
Male
Retrospective Studies