Transfusion Medicine

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) plasticizer must be removed from polyvinylchloride (PVC) medical devices due to toxicity. DEHP/PVC blood bags were shown to provide stable quality under blood component production and to create good storage conditions for red blood cells concentrate (RBC). It is important that substitution of the DEHP maintains the RBC quality during storage, which should be achieved with Di (isononyl) cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate (DINCH), although substitution of the plasticizer has been challenging...

BACKGROUND: Samples for transfusion rejected due to mislabelling can lead to harm when a patient has to be re-bled or has a transfusion or procedure delayed. Electronic labelling systems which scan the patient's identification band and generate a label at their side aim to reduce mislabelling and misidentification leading to wrong blood in tube (WBIT) errors. The 2022 National Comparative audit of sample collection aimed to compare national rates of sample mislabelling and WBIT to the 2012 audit and to examine the impact of electronic systems...

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to demonstrate the potential of myoglobin saturation as an indicator of oxygen delivery adequacy to help determine the need for red cell transfusion. BACKGROUND: Modern blood management approaches have been established to optimise use of red blood cells for transfusions in patients with anaemia. However, most approaches make recommendations to transfuse based on haemoglobin or haematocrit levels and do not directly address adequacy of oxygen delivery...

OBJECTIVE: To propose a rational basis for donor testing in cases of suspected antibody-mediated transfusion-related lung injury (AMT). BACKGROUND: Anti-leukocyte antibodies in donated blood are established causes of transfusion-related lung injury (TRALI). However, the question of whether to test donors for antibodies is not identical to whether the case meets definition criteria for TRALI. There is a balance between the potential benefits of testing and the costs of donor deferral and investigation...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Iron deficiency (ID) poses a prevalent concern among blood donors, especially impacting young donors, premenopausal females and frequent donors. In alignment with recommendations to address ID, routine ferritin testing was implemented in a hospital-based donor centre. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data set, encompassing 26 164 ferritin values from 16 464 blood donors over 33 months, were analysed retrospectively. Ferritin levels were assessed concerning donor characteristics such as sex, age, ethnicity and donation frequency...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVES: To develop an automated verification workflow for transfusion compatibility testing (TCT) based on the AUTO10-A guidelines and blood group serology characteristics and to conduct a simulated validation of the test and subtest results by assessing the appropriateness of the autoverification rules. BACKGROUND: The accuracy of TCT results is a fundamental prerequisite for ensuring the safety of blood transfusions. However, the verification of these results still requires manual intervention...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The storage temperature of immunohaematological reagents generally ranges from 2 to 8°C, and they should be utilised at room temperature. This study aimed to analyse the stability of immunohaematological reagents used in ABO and RhD typing. METHODS: The evaluation encompassed the potency, specificity, and integrity of anti-A, anti-B, anti-D, RhD control sera, and A1 and B red blood cells (RBC) reagents after long (8 h) and short (4 h) daily periods of exposure to room temperature (20-24°C), 5 days a week for 4 weeks...

OBJECTIVES: To report the UK experience of rolling out Transfusion Camp. BACKGROUND: Transfusion Camp is a structured education programme developed in Toronto, with the aim of reducing knowledge gaps in transfusion medicine in postgraduate trainees. It consists of didactic lectures viewed online by the participants, then interactive, locally delivered seminars. Since 2015, it has been rolled out in the United Kingdom, and is now available in four centres. Here, we report the UK experience of Transfusion Camp and outcomes...

Artificial intelligence (AI) uses sophisticated algorithms to "learn" from large volumes of data. This could be used to optimise recruitment of blood donors through predictive modelling of future blood supply, based on previous donation and transfusion demand. We sought to assess utilisation of predictive modelling and AI blood establishments (BE) and conducted predictive modelling to illustrate its use. A BE survey of data modelling and AI was disseminated to the International Society of Blood transfusion members...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pregnancy in women with sickle cell disease (SCD) is associated with severe complications. Red blood cell (RBC) alloimmunisation is a worrying situation in pregnant women with SCD. This could increase the difficulty in finding a pheno-compatible red blood product. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence of RBC alloantibodies in pregnant women with SCD and to determine the risk factors for alloantibodies formation. METHODS/MATERIALS: We conducted a prospective study at the "Centre National de Transfusion Sanguine de Bamako" from August 2022 to January 2023...

BACKGROUND: The Rh blood group antigens are encoded by the RHD and RHCE genes, which possess a remarkable degree of polymorphism owing to their high homologous structures. These variants of the RH genes can lead to absence or weak expression of antigens. METHODS: Analysis of RHCE genotyping by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR-SSP) method specific to detect c.48G, c.48C, 109 bp insertion of IVS2, c.201A and c.307C and RhCE phenotyping, were conducted in 316 Chinese patients in previous study...

Our objective is to review motives and barriers for non-reproductive, living substance of human origin (SoHO) donation, and to extend existing typologies beyond blood. The expansion of SoHO collection is currently unmatched by increased living donors. Thus, there is a critical need to understand how to effectively recruit and retain donors to ensure a sustainable supply of SoHO. We undertook a rapid review and narrative synthesis of published, peer-reviewed literature reporting on motives and/or barriers for living SoHO donation (whole-blood, blood products [2009-2023], bone marrow/stem cells, cord blood, organ, human breast milk, intestinal microbiota [2000-2023])...

BACKGROUND: The subject of pre-job training for transfusion service laboratory technicians is very important. The key is how to make a reasonable systematic training programme to improve the effectiveness of training. METHODS: A prospective training programme was conducted and an assessment was performed at enrollment (baseline) and reassessment after 3-months training, using the same tools with a validated questionnaire. RESULTS: Clinical competency-oriented prospective pre-job training significantly improves the clinical transfusion-related comprehensive skills of new employees...

In 2019 the For The Assessment Of Individualised Risk (FAIR) project began a review of UK blood donor selection policy to determine if a more individualised approach to donor selection could be safely implemented. An evidence base was required to inform selection policy to move from a population to a more individual based policy, specifically what sexual behaviours/indicators should be considered as screening questions to maintain the safety of the blood supply. Eight sexual behaviours/indicators were reviewed: history of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs), chemsex, number of recent partners, condom use, type of sex, sexual health service (SHS) attendance, new sexual partner and exclusivity...

BACKGROUND: Bleeding is a primary outcome for many transfusion-related trials in acute leukaemia (AL) patients, typically graded using the World Health Organisation (WHO) bleeding scale (clinically significant bleed (CSB) is ≥grade 2). This composite outcome fails to differentiate minor bleeds that may not be significant, poorly represents the total burden of bleeding and lacks input from healthcare providers (HCPs) and patients. As part of a multi-step project to create a better bleeding tool for trials, our objective was to identify HCPs' perspectives on the components of CSB in AL patients...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The FUT3 gene encodes α(1,3/1,4)-fucosyltransferase, which is a crucial enzyme in the synthesis of Lewis antigens. FUT3 gene variants show race-specific differences. In this study, we conducted a systematic sequence analysis of the FUT3 coding sequence. The objective was to explore genetic variations of the FUT3 gene within the Han population of Northern China. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cohort of 313 blood donors was recruited for the study...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Regulatory requirement of fixed holding time (6 h) of whole blood (WB) at room temperature, that is, 22-24°C (RT) results in sub-optimal component separation. The aim was to evaluate the platelet concentrates (PC) prepared by both platelet rich plasma (PRP) and buffy coat (BC) methods after overnight hold (18-24 h) at RT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective experimental study was performed. A total of 48 WB units collected were divided into four groups (12 each) control-1 (C1) and test-1 (T1) for PRP and control-2 (C2) and test-2 (T2) for the BC method...