Transfusion
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Thousands of patients with chronic renal failure die yearly without a kidney transplant due to the severe shortage of donors. Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is performed to permit ABO-incompatible (ABO-I) kidney transplants, but little is known about how well TPE reduces ABO antibodies or complications related to TPE in this clinical setting. ⋯ With current infectious disease blood screening protocols, TPE has minimal complications and can reduce ABO antibody titers to permit ABO-I renal transplantation.
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Blood donations collected at the National Blood Center, the Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok, in 2007 were tested by nucleic acid amplification technology (NAT) using the Chiron TIGRIS/Procleix Ultrio test and the Roche cobas s 201/cobas TaqScreen multiplex (MPX) test. ⋯ The performances of the systems and tests indicated that both were acceptable for routine NAT by the National Blood Center, the Thai Red Cross Society. However, the Procleix Ultrio test appeared to be less sensitive than the cobas TaqScreen test for HBV.
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Comparative Study
Anemia screening in potential female blood donors: comparison of two different quantitative methods.
Anemia screening before blood donation requires an accurate, quick, practical, and easy method with minimal discomfort for the donors. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of two quantitative methods of anemia screening: the HemoCue 201(+) (Aktiebolaget Leo Diagnostics) hemoglobin (Hb) and microhematocrit (micro-Hct) tests. ⋯ The HemoCue 201(+) showed greater discriminating power for detecting anemia in prospective blood donors than the micro-Hct method. Both presented equivalent deferral error rates of nonanemic potential donors. Compared to the micro-Hct, HemoCue 201(+) reduces the risk of anemic female donors giving blood, specially for those with lower Hb levels, without increasing the deferral of nonanemic potential donors.
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Comparative Study
The clinical utility of an index of global oxygenation for guiding red blood cell transfusion in cardiac surgery.
This observational study explored the potential utility of oxygen extraction ratio (O2ER) as an adjunct to the hemoglobin (Hb) concentration for guiding red blood cell (RBC) transfusion decisions after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). ⋯ If a normal O2ER in anemic patients with no evidence of organ dysfunction indicates adequate tissue oxygen delivery, then our findings suggest that incorporating O2ER into the transfusion decision will substantially reduce post-cardiac surgery RBC transfusions by allowing us to safely avoid transfusing this group of patients. Future studies are needed to assess the validity of this conclusion.
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In 2002, the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) conducted a workshop to determine needs of the cell therapy community. A consensus emerged that improved access to cGMP facilities, regulatory assistance, and training would foster the advancement of cellular therapy. ⋯ PACT is an active and successful cell therapy manufacturing resource in the United States, addressing research and training while forging relationships among academia, industry, and participating institutions.