Stored platelet hemostatic phenotype and function is not altered when donors are on testosterone replacement therapy.

BACKGROUND: Critical shortages in the national blood supply have led to a re-evaluation of previously overlooked donor sources for blood products. As a part of that effort, red blood cells collected from therapeutic phlebotomy of donors on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) have been conditionally approved for transfusion. However, platelets from TRT donors are not currently approved for use due to limited data on effects of supraphysiologic testosterone on recipient safety and platelet function. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive profile of phenotype and function in platelets from TRT and control donors. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Platelets in plasma were collected from TRT and control donors (N = 10 per group; age- and sex-matched) and stored at room temperature for 7 days. On storage Day 1 (D1) and Day 7 (D7), platelet products were analyzed for platelet count, metabolic parameters (i.e., glucose, lactate, mitochondrial function), surface receptor expression, aggregation, thrombin generation, and thrombus formation under physiological flow conditions. RESULTS: TRT donor platelets were not significantly different than control donor platelets in terms of count, surface phenotype, metabolic function, ability to aggregate, thrombin generation, or ability to form occlusive thrombus under arterial flow regimes. Both groups were similar to each other by D7, but had significantly lost hemostatic function compared to D1. DISCUSSION: Platelets derived from donors undergoing TRT have similar phenotypic and functional profiles compared to those derived from control donors. This suggests that therapeutic phlebotomy of TRT donors may provide a useful source for platelet products.

Isohemagglutinin titration in pooled and apheresis platelets.

BACKGROUND: Platelet inventory constraints necessitate ABO-incompatible platelet transfusion. Many minimize the hemolytic impact by confirming low titre (LT) donor isohemagglutinins. This process is costly. Pathogen-reduced platelets (PRP) in platelet additive solutions (PAS) will dilute plasma and decrease high-titre isohemagglutinins (HT). We determined the proportion of HT platelets and incompatible transfusions for units suspended in plasma to reassess the need for titres following introduction of PRP/PAS. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Our titre method is manual tube (1:50) dilution of platelet supernatant from apheresis or whole blood derived buffy coat pools suspended in plasma, tested with A1/B red cells. Testing included 49,058 pooled and 11,738 apheresis platelets over 4 years. The HT proportion, rate of out-of-group transfusions, and hemolytic reactions were determined. The impact of PAS dilution was estimated. RESULTS: Totally 60,796 platelet units were tested. Group O pooled and group B apheresis platelets had HT in 6.6% and 5.7%, respectively. Group A pooled and apheresis platelets included 2% with HT. Approximately 25% of platelets transfused were ABO-incompatible and no hemolytic reactions were reported. Based on the proportions of PAS-E and plasma for PRP platelets, plasma from each donor comprises 11 mL (6% of total volume) vs 20-257 mL in untreated pools. PAS-E will replace and dilute residual plasma by at least 50%. DISCUSSION: Rare platelet pools may demonstrate HT. PRP platelets with PAS will reduce titres and may abrogate the need for titration. A strategy of group specific transfusion or transfusion of group A PRP platelet transfusions may be a safe alternative.

Red Cell Distribution Width and Mean Corpuscular Volume Alterations: Detecting Inflammation Early in Occupational Cement Dust Exposure.

Introduction Cement dust emitted during cement manufacture consists of toxic components. Occupational cement dust exposure may cause inflammation in the human body, which may be detected early by observing changes in blood parameters such as red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV). Objectives The study aims to observe the effect of occupational cement dust exposure on RDW and MCV. Methods This study was performed in the Department of Physiology of Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh, and a factory in Munshiganj, Bangladesh, from September 2017 to August 2018. Ninety-two participants between 20 and 50 years were included (46 subjects were occupationally exposed to cement dust, and 46 were not exposed to cement dust). A pre-designed questionnaire was used for data collection. An independent sample t-test was used to analyze basic information, such as blood pressure and BMI. The multivariate regression model was used to analyze the effect of cement dust exposure on the study group. The impact of cement dust exposure duration was analyzed using the multivariate regression model. The level of significance was p < 0.05. The statistical analysis was performed using STATA-15 (StataCorp, College Station, TX), and the graphical presentation used GraphPad Prism v8.3.2. Results The cement dust-exposed participants had a significantly higher value of MCV by 1.19 fi (95% CI = 0.02, 4.84; p = 0.049) and a 5.92% increase in RDW (95% CI = 5.29, 6.55; p < 0.001) than that of the control group. Conclusion The study reveals that exposure to cement dust causes significant changes in RDW and MCV. These changes may indicate hemolysis due to inflammation.

Biotin labeling allows for post-transfusion functional assessment of stored human platelets in mice.

BACKGROUND: Platelet radiolabeling with radioisotopes is currently used for human platelet recovery and survival studies. Biotinylation enables ex vivo post-transfusion platelet function testing. Whether platelet biotinylation itself affects platelet function is controversial. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Platelet concentrates from healthy humans were stored for 6 days. Samples were obtained at 1 or 2 and 6 days, and platelets were labeled following a radiolabeling protocol using saline instead of radioactive indium-111 (sham radiolabeling [sham-RL]). Alternatively, a newly developed biotinylation protocol, a washing protocol, or an unmanipulated control sample were used. Platelet function was assessed by flow cytometry after stimulation with platelet agonists and labeling of platelets with platelet activation markers. To test whether platelets can be activated after transfusion, labeled platelets were transfused into nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency mice, and samples were obtained 1 h after transfusion. RESULTS: The activation profile of biotinylated platelets was comparable to sham-RL platelets before transfusion except for significantly less α-degranulation and more phosphatidyl serine exposure on storage day 1/2. There was no significant difference between sham-RL and biotinylated platelets on storage day 6. Sham-RL and biotinylated platelets were significantly less activatable than washed and unmanipulated control platelets. After transfusion, the activation profile of biotinylated platelets was largely indistinguishable from unmanipulated ones. DISCUSSION: The decrease in activation level in biotinylated platelets we and others observed appears mainly due to the physical manipulation during the labeling process. In conclusion, biotinylated platelets allow for post-transfusion function assessment, a major advantage over radiolabeling.

Impact of Implementing a Standard Operating Procedure to Reduce Blood Wastage in Blood Centers of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Blood wastage leads to additional costs and reduced blood availability to patients. Above all is the moral issue of wasting donor gifts. This study aimed to determine the rate of blood wastage before and after implementing a new standard operating procedure (SOP) in Iran. METHODS: In this interventional study, a SOP for wastage management was prepared and implemented in all blood centers throughout the country. Data were extracted from the integrated software of the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO). The wastage rate of blood components in the post-intervention years (2016-2017) was then compared with that in the pre-intervention years (2013-2015) using the Z test. RESULTS: The overall wastage rate decreased by 36.86% (P<0.001, 95% CI [36.84-36.88]) after the intervention. Red blood cell (RBC) wastage decreased from 2.6% to 2.5%, platelet wastage from 19.5% to 10.6% and plasma wastage from 15.5% to 7.3% (P<0.001). The highest percentage of waste reduction pertained to plasma components, which decreased by 52.90% (P<0.001, 95% CI [52.86-52.94]). Expiration was the most common cause of RBC and platelet wastage. The most common causes of plasma wastage were RBC contamination and rupture or leakage of the bags. The intervention resulted in a drop of over 250000 discarded components each year, equal to approximately thirty-six million dollars in savings. CONCLUSION: This intervention effectively reduced waste and increased efficiency. Ongoing blood wastage reviews, auditing, and receiving feedback from the central headquarters were powerful tools in following the compliance of blood centers. Further studies are recommended, especially concerning blood wastage in hospital blood banks and various wards.

Evaluation of platelets componentized with the Reveos Automated Blood Processing System and stored for 7 days at room temperature in a non-Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) platelet pooling set.

BACKGROUND: Platelet concentrates (PCs) used for transfusion can be produced by apheresis or derived from whole blood (WB). The Reveos device is the first US Food and Drug Administration-approved automated blood processing system that can produce PCs. In this work, we evaluated the quality and function of Reveos-collected PCs stored for 7 days at room temperature. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: WB was collected from healthy donors and componentized on the day of collection (Fresh) or after an overnight hold (Overnight). PCs were produced (n = 7 Fresh; n = 6 Overnight), stored at room temperature in plasma, and evaluated on days 1 and 7 for quality metrics, platelet activation, clot formation, and aggregation response. RESULTS: Platelet count was comparable between Fresh and Overnight PCs. A drop in pH was reported in Fresh day 7 PCs (p < .001, vs. day 1) but not in Overnight. Overnight units displayed the lowest levels of P-selectin expression (p = .0008, vs. day 7 Fresh). Reduced clot strength and increased lysis were observed in both Fresh and Overnight units on day 7 (vs. day 1). Overnight-hold PCs resulted in the highest clot strength on day 7 (p = .0084, vs. Fresh). No differences in aggregation were reported between groups. CONCLUSION: Reveos-processed PCs produced from overnight-hold WB performed better in hemostatic function assays and displayed reduced activation compared to fresh WB-derived PCs, although both PC groups maintained platelet quality throughout storage. Utilization of overnight WB for PC preparation with Reveos holds promise as an alternative method of producing platelets for transfusion purposes.

Número de células CD34+ circulantes como predictor de recolección exitosa de progenitores hematopoyéticos por aféresis en trasplante autólogo / Number of circulating CD34+ cells as a predictor of successful collection of hematopoietic progenitors by apheresis in autologous transplantation

RESUMEN Introducción. El trasplante autólogo de células progenitoras hematopoyéticas es una terapia eficaz en neoplasias malignas hematológicas. El número de células que CD34+ en sangre periférica es el mejor predictor del rendimiento de recolección de células progenitoras hematopoyéticas. Objetivo. Determinar el número de células CD34+ en sangre periférica asociado al éxito de recolección de progenitores hematopoyéticos por aféresis en trasplante autólogo. Métodos. Se evaluó retrospectivamente los datos de 236 procedimientos de aféresis de células progenitoras hematopoyéticas para el trasplante autólogo en el Hospital Edgardo Rebagliati Martins (Lima, Perú) de julio del 2020 a julio del 2023. Se utilizó la curva ROC (características operativas del receptor) para determinar el número de células CD34+ en sangre periférica necesario para lograr una recolección por aféresis ≥ 2 x 106 células CD34+/kg. Resultados. El 61% fueron hombres, con mediana de edad de 58 años, el valor de corte fue de 18,38 células CD34+/μL (sensibilidad de 94,1% y especificidad de 96,9%). Conclusión. El número de células CD34+ sangre periférica para una recolección exitosa de células progenitoras hematopoyéticas para el trasplante autólogo fue de 18,38 células CD34+/μL.

ABSTRACT Introduction. Autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation is an effective therapy in hematological malignancies, the number of CD34+ cells in peripheral blood is the best predictor of hematopoietic progenitor cell harvesting performance. Objective. To determine the number of CD34+ cells in peripheral blood associated with the successful collection of hematopoietic progenitors by apheresis in autologous transplantation. Methods. The data of 236 hematopoietic progenitor cell apheresis procedures for autologous transplantation at the Edgardo Rebagliati Martins Hospital (Lima, Peru) were retrospectively evaluated from July 2020 to July 2023. The ROC (receiver operating characteristics) curve was used to determine the number of CD34+ cells in peripheral blood necessary to achieve an collection by apheresis ≥ 2 x 106 CD34+ cells/kg. Results. 61% were men, with a median age of 58 years, the cut-off value was 18.38 CD34+ cells/μL (sensitivity of 94.1% and specificity of 96.9%). Conclusion. The number of peripheral blood CD34+cells for successful collection of hematopoietic progenitor cells for autologous transplantation was 18.38 CD34+ cells/μL.

Fibrin glue in managing intractable gingival bleeding in patients with inherited bleeding disorders-a quasi-experimental pilot study.

This study presents the clinical outcomes of using inhouse prepared fibrin glue for controlling gingival bleeding in patients with inherited bleeding disorders (IBD). The objective of the study was to assess the reduction in transfusion days and improvement in compliance for dental evaluation over a one-year period in a low-to-middle-income country. The quasiexperimental pilot study included 40 IBD patients with gingival bleeding. These were divided into two groups: Group A received fibrin glue (n=20), while Group B did not (n=20). The study compared outcome metrics, including the number of treatment days and blood components transfused, using non-parametric tests with a significance threshold of p<0.05. Results showed that Group A required fewer blood components (n=154) as compared to Group B (n=204) (p<0.001). Patients in Group A with Glanzmann thrombasthenia (GT) had a shorter treatment duration (one day) than those in group B (three days) (p<0.01). In conclusion, the application of fibrin glue effectively managed intractable gingival bleeding in IBD patients.

Acute Serum Calcium Level Changes Following Non-Massive Blood and Blood Product Transfusion in Emergency Department; a Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: The specific impact on calcium dynamics after non-massive blood transfusions remains relatively unexplored. This study aimed to compare pre- and post-transfusion calcium levels in patients receiving blood and blood product in the emergency department. Methods: This is a single-center, prospective, cross-sectional study conducted at the Emergency Department of Gazi University Health Research and Application Center Hospital in Ankara, Turkey, from January 1, 2020, to August 31, 2020. The study included adult patients who underwent blood and blood product transfusions, and serum calcium levels were measured and compared from samples taken before and after transfusion. Results: A total of 292 participants were enrolled in the study, with 242 participants included in the final analysis. The mean total calcium level was 8.41 ± 0.76 mg/dL before transfusion and 8.34 ± 0.71 mg/dL after transfusion (p=0.012). When examining the corrected calcium values after receiving blood products based on the type of blood products, participants who received apheresis platelets had a post-transfusion corrected calcium value of 8.26 ±0.41 mg/dL, with a pre-transfusion value of 9.09 ±0.49 mg/dL (p<0.01). The post-transfusion ionized calcium value for participants receiving apheresis was 1.04 ±0.08 mg/dL, compared to 1.15 ±0.09 mg/dL for those who did not receive apheresis (p=0.049). There was a significant relationship between receiving fresh frozen plasma and post-transfusion ionized calcium values (p=0.024). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that transfusion-associated hypocalcemia can occur even at mild levels in patients receiving blood and blood product transfusions in the emergency department. However, it is suggested that the clinical effects of hypocalcemia, even when occurring based on the type and quantity of blood products, are minimal and negligible.

Prevalence of extracorporeal blood purification techniques in critically ill patients before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt.

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal blood-purification techniques are frequently needed in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), yet data on their clinical application are lacking. This study aims to review the indications, rate of application, clinical characteristics, complications, and outcomes of patients undergoing extracorporeal blood purification (i.e., by continuous renal replacement therapy [CRRT] or therapeutic plasma exchange [TPE]) in our PICU, including before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2019 and during the pandemic from 2020 to 2022. METHODS: This study included children admitted for extracorporeal blood-purification therapy in the PICU. The indications for TPE were analyzed and compared to the American Society for Apheresis categories. RESULTS: In 82 children, 380 TPE sessions and 37 CRRT sessions were carried out children, with 65 patients (79%) receiving TPE, 17 (20.7%) receiving CRRT, and four (4.8%) receiving both therapies. The most common indications for TPE were neurological diseases (39/82, 47.5%), followed by hematological diseases (18/82, 21.9%). CRRT was mainly performed for patients suffering from acute kidney injury. Patients with neurological diseases received the greatest number of TPE sessions (295, 77.6%). Also, the year 2022 contained the greatest number of patients receiving extracorporeal blood-purification therapy (either CRRT or TPE). CONCLUSIONS: The use of extracorporeal blood-purification techniques increased from 2019 through 2022 due to mainly autoimmune dysregulation among affected patients. TPE can be safely used in an experienced PICU. No serious adverse events were observed in the patients that received TPE, and overall survival over the 4 years was 86.5%.

Donors with repeated blood product discards for filtration problems, clots or hemolysis: Causes and follow-up.

INTRODUCTION: Sanquin donor medicine department is informed when donations or their components are rejected. This can occur isolated or frequently. It is undesirable because the donations cannot be used and there may be an underlying medical cause. Based on regional approaches, a uniform procedure was developed. METHODS: Information about whole blood, plasma- plateletpheresis donations from which one or more components were rejected for filtration time (>2 h), hemolysis or clots were extracted from blood bank information system. After rejection of two successive components or donations or total ≥3 the donor is contacted. Depending on the medical history and investigation by the family doctor, the donor carrier is re-evaluated. We looked for the causes of the discarded products and performed a survey among blood services regarding polices with discarded products. RESULTS: One or more components from 1742 of about 2.2 million successful donations (0.08%) were rejected. The highest percentage of rejection was seen in plateletpheresis (1.5%), all for clots. No underlying medical causes were found. 24 whole blood donors were found to have sickle cell trait (SCT) and were permanently deferred. The policies for follow-up after discarded products or acceptance of SCT donors vary between the 16 blood banks. Six organizations do not follow-up donors and seven accept SCT for blood or plasma donation. CONCLUSION: Informing donors with repeated discarded products avoids the non-use of donations. Causes of repeated discarded products can be found by follow-up of donors. The results of the survey indicate a large discrepancy in policies applied worldwide.

Patient and caregiver perceptions of the possibility of home blood transfusions.

BACKGROUND: Patients with hematologic malignancies (HM) often develop transfusion dependence. The patient and caregiver burdens associated with the need for frequent transfusions are high. Home blood transfusions has the potential to reduce these burdens, but is not widely practiced in the United States. We designed a qualitative study to evaluate the patient and caregiver perceptions of the potential for a home blood transfusion program. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Eligible patients included Adult (≥18 years) patients who were English speaking and met the definition for transfusion dependence within 3 months of study enrollment. We identified and interviewed eligible participants (patients and caregivers), using a semi-structured interview guide to elicit patient perceptions of the acceptability, barriers, and benefits related to home blood product transfusions. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Results were imported into NVivo 12 (version 12; QSR International, Burlington, VT) for coding and analysis. RESULTS: We recruited participants until we reached thematic saturation, which occurred at 29 participants (20 patients, 9 caregivers). Among the 20 patient participants, nine had MDS (45%) and 11 had acute leukemia (55%). Most of the patients (60%) reported getting one transfusion per week. Four themes emerged when the participants discussed their perception regarding the potential of a home blood transfusion program: (1) current in-person experience, (2) caregiver burden, (3) perceptions of home blood transfusions, and (4) interest in participating in a home blood transfusion program. CONCLUSION: The concept of home blood transfusions was well received and further research to study its implementation is warranted.

Connectivity in transfusion medicine: Challenges, benefits, and goals.

Transfusion medicine requires meticulous record keeping from the time a blood donation is made to the time a patient receives a transfusion. As such, blood collection establishments and processing laboratories generate large amounts of data. This data must be managed, analyzed, and visualized appropriately to ensure safety of the blood supply. Today, the use of information technology (IT) solutions for data management in transfusion medicine varies widely between institutions. In this report, blood center professionals describe how they currently use IT solutions to improve their blood processing methods, the challenges they have, and how they envision IT solutions improving transfusion medicine in the future.

Reevaluation of the medical necessity of washed red blood cell transfusion in chronically transfused adults.

BACKGROUND: Washing red blood cell (RBC) units mitigates severe allergic transfusion reactions. However, washing reduces the time to expiration and the effective dose. Automated washing is time- and labor-intensive. A shortage of cell processor tubing sets prompted review of medical necessity for washed RBC for patients previously thought to require washing. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A single-center, retrospective study investigated discontinuing wash RBC protocols in chronically transfused adults. In select patients with prior requirements for washing, due to a history of allergic transfusion reactions, trials of unwashed transfusions were performed. Patient demographic, clinical, laboratory, and transfusion data were compiled. The per-unit washing cost was the sum of the tubing set, saline, and technical labor costs. RESULTS: Fifteen patients (median age 34 years interquartile range [IQR] 23-53 years, 46.7% female) were evaluated. These patients had been transfused with a median of 531 washed RBC units (IQR 244-1066) per patient over 12 years (IQR 5-18 years), most commonly for recurrent, non-severe allergic reactions. There were no transfusion reactions with unwashed RBCs aside from one patient with one episode of pruritus and another with recurrent pruritus, which was typical even with washed RBC. We decreased the mean number of washed RBC units per month by 72.9% (104 ± 10 vs. 28.2 ± 25.2; p < .0001) and saved US $100.25 per RBC unit. CONCLUSION: Washing of RBCs may be safely reconsidered in chronically transfused patients without a history of anaphylaxis. Washing should be implemented judiciously due to potential lack of necessity and logistical/operational challenges.

A joint evaluation method of dynamic spectrum extraction methods for non-invasive blood component measurement based on stability coefficient, data point adoption rate, and smoothness of the spectrum.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Dynamic spectrum (DS) theory is a new non-invasive detection method of human blood components that can theoretically eliminate individual differences in static tissues and the influence of other measurement conditions to achieve blood component analysis with high precision. In order to obtain a high signal-to-noise ratio dynamic spectrum, researchers have proposed various dynamic spectrum extraction methods. METHODS: In this article, we propose three indexes: stability coefficient (SC), data point adoption rate (DAR), and smoothness of spectrum (SS). These solve the difficulty in evaluating different dynamic spectrum extraction methods without establishing mathematical models. RESULTS: In this study, DS is extracted using different dynamic spectrum extraction methods from the experimental data of 677 volunteers. Then three indexes, SC, DAR, and SS, are calculated. The trends in the scatter plot of the relationship between the three indexes and modeling results of hemoglobin, red blood cell count, and white blood cell count and the related coefficients demonstrate that SC, DAR, and SS are feasible and effective for evaluation. The results show that the root mean square extraction performs best, while the peak-to-peak value and the fast Fourier transform extraction are the worst. CONCLUSIONS: This study proposes feasible and effective indexes for evaluating dynamic spectrum extraction methods, providing a possibility for further research on high-precision dynamic spectrum extraction methods.

Blood donation practices, processing and utilisation of blood components in government tertiary hospitals in Nigeria: a multicentre cooperative study.

BACKGROUND: Timely access to safe blood and blood components is still a challenge in Nigeria. This study aimed to determine blood donation practices, processing and utilization of blood components across government tertiary hospitals (THs) in Nigeria. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study done in Nigeria in June-July 2020. Data were analysed with SPSS version 21.0. RESULTS: Data were collected from 50 THs. The majority (68%) of the THs lack facilities for blood component preparation and only 18% and 32% provide cryoprecipitate and platelet concentrate, respectively. Whole blood was most commonly requested (57.04%). All facilities tested blood for HIV, HBV and HCV, but the majority (23 [46%]) employed rapid screening tests alone and nucleic acid testing was not available in any hospitals. The manual method was the most common method of compatibility testing in 90% (45/50) and none of the THs routinely perform extended red cell typing. The average time to process routine, emergency and uncross-matched requests were a mean of 109.58±79.76 min (range 45.00-360.00), 41.62±25.23 (10.00-240.00) and 11.09±4.92 (2.00-20.00), respectively. CONCLUSION: Facilities for blood component preparation were not widely available. Concerned government authorities should provide facilities for blood component preparation.

Machine-learning prediction models for any blood component transfusion in hospitalized dengue patients.

BACKGROUND: Blood component transfusions are a common and often necessary medical practice during the epidemics of dengue. Transfusions are required for patients when they developed severe dengue fever or thrombocytopenia of 10×109/L or less. This study therefore investigated the risk factors, performance and effectiveness of eight different machine-learning algorithms to predict blood component transfusion requirements in confirmed dengue cases admitted to hospital. The objective was to study the risk factors that can help to predict blood component transfusion needs. METHODS: Eight predictive models were developed based on retrospective data from a private group of hospitals in India. A python package SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) was used to explain the output of the "XGBoost" model. RESULTS: Sixteen vital variables were finally selected as having the most significant effects on blood component transfusion prediction. The XGBoost model presented significantly better predictive performance (area under the curve: 0.793; 95 % confidence interval: 0.699-0.795) than the other models. CONCLUSION: Predictive modelling techniques can be utilized to streamline blood component preparation procedures and can help in the triage of high-risk patients and readiness of caregivers to provide blood component transfusions when required. This study demonstrates the potential of multilayer algorithms to reasonably predict any blood component transfusion needs which may help healthcare providers make more informed decisions regarding patient care.

How do we perform intrauterine transfusions?

BACKGROUND: Intrauterine transfusion (IUT) is an invasive but critical and potentially life-saving intervention for severe fetal anemia with demonstrated improvement in outcomes. The fetus is vulnerable to hemodynamic alterations and transfusion-related adverse events; therefore, special consideration must be given to blood component selection and modification. There is widespread IUT practice variability, and existing guidance primarily relies on expert opinion and single center experiences. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Experts in Maternal Fetal Medicine, Pediatric Hematology, and Transfusion Medicine from centers across the United States, collectively performing about 120 IUT annually, offer a multidisciplinary perspective on the performance of IUT and preparation of blood components. This perspective includes strategies for identifying an at-risk fetus, communicating between disciplines, determining the necessary blood volume, selecting and processing blood components, documenting the procedure in medical record, and managing the neonate. RESULTS: Identifying an at-risk fetus relies on review of the clinical history, non-invasive monitoring, and laboratory evaluation. We recommend the use of relatively fresh, group O, cytomegalovirus-safe, freshly irradiated, red blood cells (RBC) that are Hemoglobin S negative and antigen-negative for any maternal antibody, if indicated. These RBC units should be concentrated to remove additives and increase the hematocrit thus minimizing fluctuations in fetal volume status. The units intended for IUT should be labeled clearly and the documentation of transfusion differentiated in the maternal medical record. DISCUSSION: An awareness of the technical, logistical, and regulatory considerations for IUT performance will facilitate improved communication and patient care, especially when rare units of RBC are required.