Blood for transfusion
Photo by Elise Amendola
Results of the RECESS trial suggest the duration of red blood cell (RBC) storage does not affect clinical outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
Patients who received older RBCs (stored for 21 days or more) did not have significantly higher multi-organ dysfunction scores, mortality rates, or rates of serious adverse events, when compared to patients who received newer RBCs (stored for 10 days or fewer).
Marie E. Stein, MD, of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and her colleagues reported these results in NEJM. Dr Stein presented the same data last October at the AABB Annual Meeting 2014.
