Blood transfusion = Trasfusione del sangue
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Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is a life-saving treatment for several pathologies. RBCs for transfusion are stored refrigerated in a preservative solution, which extends their shelf-life for up to 42 days. ⋯ In this review, we aim to decipher the duration of RBC storage and inflammatory marker generation. This phenomenon is included as one of the causes of transfusion-related immunomodulation (TRIM), an emerging concept developed to potentially elucidate numerous clinical observations that suggest that RBC transfusion is associated with increased inflammatory events or effects with clinical consequence.
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All blood components undergo loss of potency during storage. These loss-of-potency storage lesions are important in trauma resuscitation because they reduce the haemostatic capacity of mixtures of components that attempt to reconstitute whole blood. Even red cell storage-related loss of potency, which averages 17% with modern additive solutions, is important because 6 units of red cells must be given to achieve the effect of 5 fully potent units. ⋯ Component preparation and storage-related losses of potency for all blood components are serious problems for trauma resuscitation. Even red cell storage contributes to this problem and this can be made better in ways that can save many lives each year.