• H Reikvam, L van de Watering, C Prowse, D Devine, N M Heddle, T Hervig, and BEST collaborative.
• Department of Haematology, Institute of Internal Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
• Transfus Med. 2011 Jun 1;21(3):145-9.

ObjectivesRed blood cell concentrates (RCCs) are the major blood component transfused to patients. There is a great variability in patient response, depending on both the patient's blood volume and haemoglobin content in the RCC. Standardisation of transfusion practice is needed to improve the prediction of patient outcome.AimWe hypothesise that labelling of RCCs with haemoglobin content will add possibilities for the standardisation of transfusion practice.MethodsData from multiple international transfusion services regarding haemoglobin content and weight or volume of RCC were collected and analysed.ResultsWe demonstrate a strong and highly significant correlation between haemoglobin content with both weight and volume of the RCCs. A linear regression model was used to assess these relationships, and it demonstrates how haemoglobin content can be estimated for different cell production processes.ConclusionsWe recommend the use of weight or volume of the RCCs as the basis of estimating haemoglobin in the RCC and postulate that this can be used in future studies to explore the effects of a haemoglobin dose-based transfusion system. As the weight - and sometimes the volume - of the blood bag is easily accessible, in contrast to direct haemoglobin measurements from each individual unit, this method is feasible and simple.© 2010 The Authors. Transfusion Medicine © 2010 British Blood Transfusion Society.

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