Older Blood Is Linked To Deaths

LOS ANGELES — Heart surgery patients who received transfusions of blood stored for more than two weeks were 64% more likely to die in the hospital than those who received fresher blood, a finding that adds to the growing concern about the safety of current transfusion practices.

Several small studies have suggested a danger in using blood that is nearing its expiration date, but a report published today is by far the largest, with more than 6,000 patients enrolled.

In response to the growing concern, some hospitals have modified their procedures for cardiac surgery — one of the largest consumers of donor blood — to minimize the need for transfusions. New practices include increased use of blood scavenging during surgery, sending patients home with a lower-than-normal percentage of red cells in their blood, new drugs to prevent intra– and post-operative bleeding and, perhaps most important, reducing anemia before surgery.

Some researchers are also attempting to rejuvenate older blood, such as by re-infusing it with nitric oxide, a critical ingredient for delivering oxygen to tissues that has been shown to disappear during storage.