AABB Publishes Critical Developments Literature Review

Every year the AABB publishes a synopsis of literature regarding important developments in Transfusion Medicine. For the first time, a condensed version has been made available in the journal “Transfusion” to serve as a helpful educational tool.

Entitled “Critical developments of 2017: a review of the literature from selected topics in transfusion. A committee report from the AABB Clinical Transfusion Medicine Committee,” this compilation addresses the following topics:

• Duration of red blood cell storage and clinical outcomes
• Blood donor characteristics and patient outcomes
• Reversal of bleeding in hemophilia and for patients on direct oral anticoagulants
• Transfusion approach to hemorrhagic shock
• Pathogen inactivation
• Pediatric transfusion medicine
• Therapeutic plasma exchange and extracorporeal photopheresis

Regarding the duration of red blood cell storage, regulations currently call for a 42-day shelf life.  A long-standing concern has been that transfusing blood that is older (but still within the 42-day window) carries a higher risk of patient mortality than transfusing fresher blood. The literature review covers two major trials that evaluated the risk of older versus fresher red blood cells. In addition, it explains that 15 randomized controlled trials have been conducted on a total of 31,293 patients. None of these trials produced evidence that fresh blood is better than older blood in terms of patient mortality.

Two of the studies reviewed concluded that the current 42-day shelf life for red blood cells does not need to be reduced. This is a positive development, as a shorter shelf life would decrease inventory and be more difficult to manage.

Supporting Your Blood Storage and Processing

At Helmer Scientific, we are always pleased with developments that positively impact our customers and the patients they care for. We have offered high quality blood bank equipment for 40 years and are delighted to hear about advances that improve the availability of this precious, life-giving resource.  We are here to support your efforts to properly store and monitor your blood products.

You can find more information on Helmer products for Transfusion Services and Blood Centers on our website.

To access the abstract for the literature review, click the link below.