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.

CSL Behring initiates FCH Phase III trial to control bleeding during cardiovascular surgery

CSL Behring announced today that the first patient has been treated as part of the REPLACE Phase III clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of fibrinogen concentrate (Human) (FCH) in controlling microvascular bleeding during aortic aneurysm surgery.

16 Mar 2012

Scientists decode two new blood types

You probably know your blood type: A, B, AB or O. You may even know if you're Rhesus positive or negative. But how about the Langereis blood type? Or the Junior blood type? Positive or negative? Most people have never even heard of these.

24 Feb 2012

RBC transfusion improves physical fatigue in postpartum anemic women

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that show that in women with acute postpartum anemia, due to excessive blood loss during delivery, red blood cell transfusion led to a statistically significant decrease in physical fatigue.

13 Feb 2012

Change in sickle cell anemia prevention strategies decreases racial disparities in stroke-related deaths

The disparity in stroke-related deaths among black and white children dramatically narrowed after prevention strategies changed to include ultrasound screening and chronic blood transfusions for children with sickle cell anemia, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012.

3 Feb 2012

FDA grants 510(k) clearance for Medtronic's Aquamantys SBS 5.0 Sheathed Bipolar Sealer

Medtronic, Inc. announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Aquamantys® SBS 5.0 Sheathed Bipolar Sealer, a new addition to the spine portfolio of the company's Advanced Energy business.

From Medtronic 23 Jan 2012

Patients need less blood after surgery than is widely thought

Patients need less blood after surgery than is widely thought. A new study comparing two plans for giving blood transfusions following surgery showed no ill effects from postponing transfusion until patients develop signs of anemia or their hemoglobin concentration falls below 8 g/dL.

16 Dec 2011

Research assesses safety and efficacy of pre-operative transfusions, hydroxyurea therapy for SCD

Research assessing the safety and efficacy of hydroxyurea therapy in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and the use of pre-operative transfusions for patients with SCD who undergo low- and moderate-risk elective surgery will be presented today at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

12 Dec 2011

MCC invests $122M in Lesotho health system to address key challenges, including HIV, TB

"The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), through its partnership with the Millennium Challenge Account-Lesotho, is helping Lesotho address key challenges in its health sector through a $122 million investment in health infrastructure and health systems," IIP Digital reports.

9 Dec 2011

Brazil's ANVISA grants registration for child-adapted formulation of benznidazole for Chagas disease

Today, at the occasion of the 4th DNDi Partners' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dr Carlos Gadelha, Secretary of Science, Technology and Strategic Products, Brazilian Ministry of Health, announced that Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) granted registration of a new paediatric dosage form of benznidazole, developed through a partnership between the Pernambuco State Pharmaceutical Laboratory (LAFEPE) of Brazil and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi).

3 Dec 2011

Baby boomers more likely to develop HCV

Experts at Montefiore Medical Center urge the general public to be tested for the Hepatitis C virus, especially baby boomers, adults born between 1946-1964, who could be most at risk for this disease. Baby boomers are more likely to have been exposed to dangerous risk factors decades ago, such as sharing a drug needle, being tattooed or pierced with unsterilized tools or receiving a tainted blood transfusion.

2 Dec 2011

Suppressing mosquitoes - the only way of controlling dengue

There is no vaccine against dengue, an emerging tropical disease regularly also hitting tourists, so the only way of controlling it is by suppressing the mosquitoes transmitting the disease.

28 Nov 2011

Study identifies major risk factor for necrotizing enterocolitis

Many premature infants suffer a life-threatening destruction of intestinal tissue called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Now a Loyola University Medical Center study has identified a major risk factor for NEC: Preemies with the AB blood type who develop NEC are nearly three times as likely to die from it as preemies with other blood types.

22 Nov 2011

Abbott receives FDA approval for new Chagas assay

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first test for use as an additional, more specific test on human serum or plasma specimens found to be positive for antibodies to Trypanosoma cruzi.

19 Nov 2011

Hemoglobin levels, blood pressure and male gender linked to higher risk of silent strokes in SCA children

Factors such as low hemoglobin levels, increased systolic blood pressure, and male gender are linked to a higher risk of silent cerebral infarcts (SCIs), or silent strokes, in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA), according to results from a large, first-of-its-kind study published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

17 Nov 2011

Adult living donor liver transplantations safe for donors

Desperately needed adult living donor liver transplantation is a safe surgery for the donor, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital.

9 Nov 2011

Study: Birth cohort screening for HCV is cost effective in primary care setting

According to a new study being published early online in Annals of Internal Medicine, the flagship journal of the American College of Physicians, birth cohort screening for hepatitis C is cost effective in the primary care setting.

5 Nov 2011

Combination of prasugrel plus ASA can treat acute coronary syndrome

In order to better prevent blood clots, the drugs clopidogrel or prasugrel can be prescribed to patients with acute ischaemia of the heart muscle, in addition to acetylsalicylic acid.

16 Sep 2011

Researchers inject cultured red blood cells created from HSCs into human donor

For the first time, researchers have successfully injected cultured red blood cells (cRBCs) created from human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) into a human donor, according to study results published today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology.

3 Sep 2011

Shriners Hospitals for Children uses Masimo SpHb during selected surgeries

The healthcare professionals at Shriners Hospitals for Children - Honolulu, which perform hundreds of orthopaedic surgeries on children each year, are using the latest in medical technology from Masimo to noninvasively monitor patient blood levels during selected surgeries.

31 Aug 2011

Puget Sound Blood Center, Seattle Children's inaugurate new on-site lab

Today, Seattle Children's and Puget Sound Blood Center opened a new blood laboratory to serve Children's patients exclusively. Located within Seattle Children's main campus and staffed by Puget Sound Blood Center employees 24 hours every day of the year, the facility will bring the lab closer to the patient.

28 Jul 2011