Blood Transfusion News and Research

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Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood or blood-based products from one person into the circulatory system of another. Blood transfusions can be life-saving in some situations, such as massive blood loss due to trauma, or can be used to replace blood lost during surgery.

Masimo announces limited market release of Pronto-7 handheld hemoglobin spot-check testing device

Masimo, the inventor of Rainbow Pulse CO-Oximetry™, Rainbow Acoustic Monitoring™, and Masimo SET® Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry, today announced the international limited market release of Masimo Pronto-7 -- a new handheld device designed for quick and easy noninvasive hemoglobin (SpHb®) spot-check testing in virtually any environment.

23 Jun 2010

NHLBI funds nine research grants to determine safety and efficacy of red blood cell transfusions

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding nine research grants to determine if the safety and efficacy of red blood cell transfusions vary depending on how long the cells have been stored. One of the grants supports the first large, multi-center, randomized clinical trial to compare outcomes in heart surgery patients who receive transfusions of red blood cells that have been stored for shorter or longer amounts of time.

22 Jun 2010

New independent study demonstrates clinical accuracy of Masimo noninvasive and continuous hemoglobin monitoring

Masimo, the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry™ and Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry, announced today that a new independent study demonstrating the clinical accuracy of Masimo noninvasive and continuous hemoglobin (SpHb) monitoring was presented this week at the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA) Annual Congress in Helsinki, Finland.

16 Jun 2010

WHO calls for more blood donations worldwide

Seventy-seven countries do not have a blood donation rate high enough to meet "the basic needs for blood transfusions," the Associated Press reports. The WHO released new global data on blood donation for World Blood Donor Day on June 14. "[H]alf of the global blood donations are collected in developed nations, home to only 16 percent of the world's population," according to the AP (6/11).

15 Jun 2010

People under 25 contribute 38% of voluntary blood donations

People under the age of 25 contribute an estimated 38% of reported voluntary blood donations, according to new global data from the WHO, released on World Blood Donor Day, 14 June.

14 Jun 2010

Genetic variation can predict how people infected with hepatitis C react to treatment: Scientists

A small genetic change can predict how people infected with hepatitis C react to treatment, paving the way to personalised therapy for this difficult to treat disease, the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics will hear today (Sunday 13 June). Dr. Zoltan Kutalik, from the Department of Medical Genetics, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, will tell delegates that individuals with this change, in a gene encoding for the antiviral cytokine (cell-signalling molecule) interferon lamda, reacts less well to treatment.

14 Jun 2010

Healthcare facilities lack appropriate equipment, supplies to manage emergency situations: Report

Healthcare facilities sometimes lack the appropriate equipment and supplies to successfully manage an emergency in their facility in a timely manner, according to data released today by the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority and published in the June Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory.

2 Jun 2010

Lyophilized heparin demonstrates better ability to preserve cord blood stem cells than CPD: Study

Lyophilized heparin, a proprietary anticoagulant developed specifically for cord blood collection, demonstrated a better ability to preserve the number of viable cells over a longer period of time than a commonly-used anticoagulant, citrate phosphate dextrose, according to a study presented today at the International Society for Cellular Therapy Annual Meeting.

26 May 2010

Delegates at the World Health Assembly adopt resolutions on variety of global health issues

The 63rd World Health Assembly, which brought together Health Ministers and senior health officials from the World Health Organization's Member States, concluded business and closed Friday evening.

24 May 2010

WPI, Cerus announce positive results from study of INTERCEPT Blood System to inactivate XMRV

The Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease (WPI) and Cerus Corporation announced positive results from a study demonstrating the efficacy of the INTERCEPT Blood System to inactivate XMRV, a human retrovirus, in donated platelet components.

18 May 2010

Immunetics receives $2.8M contract as part of NHLBI's REDS-II project

Immunetics, Inc. has been selected to receive a $2.8 million contract as part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study-II project, a long term epidemiologic study of blood safety involving HIV and other infectious and non-infectious complications of blood transfusion.

18 May 2010

Nurses give evidence of the horrifying day in Dr. Jayant Patel’s surgery

The trial of Dr. Jayant Patel continues. In recent evidence at the court one of the operating theatre nurses revealed under oath to the Brisbane Supreme Court how staff had tried to deter former Bundaberg-based surgeon Jayant Patel from transferring an unstable patient from the theatre to ICU, where he died. There was earlier evidence that the man was bleeding uncontrollably and also allegations that Patel urged junior doctors not to tell anyone what happened.

12 May 2010

FDA approves Abbott Prism Chagas test to screen blood, tissue and organ donors for T. cruzi

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a second test to screen blood, tissue and organ donors for a blood-borne parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi that causes Chagas disease, a serious and potentially fatal parasitic infection.

3 May 2010

FDA grants marketing clearance for Immucor's NEO automated blood bank instrument

Immucor, Inc., a global leader in providing automated instrument-reagent systems to the blood transfusion industry, today announced that its fourth generation automated instrument, NEO™, has been cleared for marketing in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"). NEO is a fully automated blood bank instrument designed to meet the needs of high volume laboratories.

30 Apr 2010

High incidence of MDS among seniors, elderly at increased risk of premature death: Study

Myelodysplastic syndromes - a group of serious blood cancers - are nearly five times more common in seniors than previously thought, according to a new study by researchers from the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center.

27 Apr 2010

Study reveals new marker for predicting patients requiring blood transfusion in ICU

Receiving a blood transfusion in the intensive care unit (ICU) is not uncommon, but reliable predictors for patients that will require transfusion are not readily available. A new study published in the May issue of Anesthesiology seeks to reduce the occurrence of ICU transfusions, revealing a new marker for patients at higher risk for developing severe anemia and subsequently requiring transfusion in the ICU.

24 Apr 2010

Ban on Gay men from donating blood to be reviewed in light of new evidence

Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) has recently announced plans for a review of Australia's ban on sexually-active gay men donating blood. Canada, Scotland, Sweden and New Zealand have already conducted such reviews and the US is soon to follow suit.

14 Apr 2010

Actual cost of blood 37% higher than previously estimated

A new blood transfusion cost analysis study published in the April 2010 issue of Transfusion, a peer-reviewed academic journal, shows that when all of the complex cost factors leading up to and after a red blood cell (RBC) transfusion are considered, the actual cost of blood is substantially higher than previously estimated.

7 Apr 2010

Emory University researchers develop experimental clinical test for XMRV

The recently discovered retrovirus, xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV), has been identified in some prostate cancer patients. In light of conflicting data concerning XMRV, standardized diagnostic testing is important to identify patients in which XMRV is present and to determine whether it plays a role in the incidence of prostate cancer.

6 Apr 2010

Hybrid revascularization procedure is safe and feasible for left main coronary artery stenosis

The left main coronary artery provides most of the blood to the heart, and current guidelines call for patients with blockages in this artery to undergo bypass surgery.

16 Mar 2010