ORLANDO – Stored red blood cells kept for longer than a few weeks do not impair outcomes or harm the patients who receive them, Dr. Christine Cserti-Gazdewich reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.
In a randomized clinical trial conducted in Kanpala, Uganda, where severe anemia with lactic acidosis is common, children who received RBCs that had been stored from 25-35 days had outcomes that were not inferior to those of children who received RBCs delivered within 10 days of collection. The findings have significant, positive implications for countries and geographic regions where there are chronic shortages of blood products, said Dr. Cserti-Gazdewich, of Toronto General Hospital.