Blood Donation News and Research

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Blood donor scraps help researchers to discover new insight into human immune system

Iowa State University researchers have discovered new insight into the human immune system from an unlikely source, the leftover material from blood donation banks.

16 Mar 2018

‘Nudging’ techniques could increase parents’ intentions for cord blood donations

It contains potentially lifesaving stem cells that can treat a host of blood-based cancers and other diseases. Yet the blood found in newborns' umbilical cords is almost always discarded as medical waste, rather than banked for future needs.

12 Jan 2018

Blood transfusions should be gender matched between donor and recipient

An emergency blood transfusion mandates matching of the blood types so that the donor and the recipient are compatible in their blood types. There is no other matching between the blood bag and the recipient – race, ethnicity, religion, gender etc.

18 Oct 2017

Research examines awareness, knowledge, and practice of blood donation in Bangladesh

Blood donation is a vital life-saving process but low awareness about the importance of blood donation can impact the safe and adequate supply of blood in hospitals.

17 Oct 2017

As loyal blood donors age, industry is out for young blood

When Corinne Standefer retires as a volunteer from the Lane Bloodworks in Eugene, Ore., this month, she will have donated 37 years of her life — and almost 19 gallons of blood.

30 Sep 2017

Study suggests frequent blood donation as feasible and safe option for donors

Giving blood more frequently – up to every 8 weeks for men and every 12 weeks for women – has no major side effects and could help to increase blood stocks, according to the first ever randomised trial of blood donation involving more than 45000 people in England published in The Lancet.

25 Sep 2017

Donors could give blood more frequently than current intervals, study shows

New research shows that blood donors could safely give blood more frequently than is allowed at present. At the moment in the UK men can give blood every 12 weeks, women every 16 weeks.

25 Sep 2017

Targeting bone marrow protein could be effective way to improve stem cell transplants

Bone marrow contains hematopoetic stem cells, the precursors to every blood cell type. These cells spring into action following bone marrow transplants, bone marrow injury and during systemic infection, creating new blood cells, including immune cells, in a process known as hematopoiesis.

28 Aug 2017

Biologic substance APOSEC shows promise for healing dermal wounds

APOSEC is a substance obtained from white blood corpuscles and was developed by a research group led by thoracic surgeon Hendrik Jan Ankersmit, Head of the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Cardiac and Thoracic Diagnosis and Regeneration at MedUni Vienna.

3 Aug 2017

Relaxed blood donation rules for gay men and sex workers in England and Scotland

Blood donation rules in England and Scotland have been relaxed to allow gay men and sex workers to donate blood, due to more more accurate testing being available. Homosexual men can now donate blood three months after their last sexual activity instead of 12 months as was the rule before. Earlier gay men were banned from donating blood for life

24 Jul 2017

American Red Cross is facing blood shortage and urging donors to come forth

The American Red Cross issued an emergency statement early this week that they are facing a shortage of blood and are urging willing donors to come forth and donate blood or platelets as soon as possible.

6 Jul 2017

Researchers develop robust technique for efficient manufacture of red blood cells

Researchers have generated the first immortalised cell lines which allow more efficient manufacture of red blood cells.

23 Mar 2017

Scientists seeking blood donations from people exposed to arboviruses for dengue, Zika vaccine research

Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine are conducting studies that utilize blood donations from individuals who have been diagnosed with or potentially exposed to mosquito-borne viruses as part of ongoing dengue and Zika research and vaccine development.

2 Aug 2016

VUMC researchers aim to decode genetic underpinnings of human immune system

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center this month began recruiting volunteers to participate in a clinical trial aimed at decoding the human "immunome," the genetic underpinnings of the immune system.

22 Jun 2016

WHO urges all countries to establish blood services based on voluntary non-remunerated blood donations

Voluntary, unpaid blood donations must be increased rapidly in more than half the world’s countries in order to ensure a reliable supply of safe blood for patients whose lives depend on it, the World Health Organization said on World Blood Donor Day.

14 Jun 2016

Study shows pulmonary alveolar proteinosis can be cured by single transfer of monocytes

Researchers from VIB-UGent reveal that adult circulating monocytes that get access to the macrophage niche in the liver or the lung can acquire identical tissue-specific macrophage functions and self-maintenance capacities as macrophages of embryonic origin.

20 Apr 2016

Certain red blood cell manufacturing methods may be less damaging to cells than others

Scientists from Blood Systems Research Institute in San Francisco, California, and Canadian Blood Services' Centre for Innovation lab in Edmonton, Alberta, report for the first time that specific red blood cell manufacturing methods may be less damaging to cells than others.

12 Apr 2016

FDA announces availability of investigational test to screen donated blood for Zika virus

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced the availability of an investigational test to screen blood donations for Zika virus. The screening test may be used under an investigational new drug application (IND) for screening donated blood in areas with active mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus.

31 Mar 2016

One million people across England, North Wales now registered to book blood donation appointments online

One million people across England and North Wales are now registered to book donation appointments online, making it one of the largest digital booking systems of any blood service in the world.

4 Feb 2016

“Anemia and Hemoglobin Testing” guide published by EKF Diagnostics

EKF Diagnostics, the global in vitro diagnostics company, announces the publication of its new guide, “Anemia and hemoglobin testing” .

From EKF Diagnostics 7 Jan 2016