title: The age of stored red blood cell concentrates at the time of transfusion.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. n.j.raat@amc.uva.nl
authors.forename: N J H
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Raat
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Berends
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Verhoeven
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Korte
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ince
mesh_terms: D001793:Blood Preservation / Q000379:methods; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion / Q000379:methods; D004912:Erythrocytes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies