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Re‐introducing whole blood for transfusion: considerations for blood providers
Author(s) -
Hervig Tor A.,
Doughty Heidi A.,
Cardigan Rebecca A.,
Apelseth Torunn O.,
Hess John R.,
Noorman Femke,
Bohoněk Miloš,
Yazer Mark H.,
Lu Jia,
Wendel Silvano,
Sparrow Rosemary L.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
vox sanguinis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.68
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1423-0410
pISSN - 0042-9007
DOI - 10.1111/vox.12998
Subject(s) - blood component , blood product , whole blood , blood management , intensive care medicine , blood transfusion , medicine , blood bank , red blood cell , medical emergency , surgery , immunology
Whole blood is the original blood preparation but disappeared from the blood bank inventories in the 1980s following the advent of component therapy. In the early 2000s, both military and civilian practice called for changes in the transfusion support for massive haemorrhage. The ‘clear fluid’ policy was abandoned and replaced by early balanced transfusion of platelets, plasma and red cells. Whole blood is an attractive alternative to multi‐component therapy, which offers reduced hemodilution, lower donor exposure and simplified logistics. However, the potential for wider re‐introduction of whole blood requires re‐evaluation of haemolysins, storage conditions and shelf‐life, the need for leucocyte depletion/ pathogen reduction and inventory management for blood providers. This review addresses these questions and calls for research to define the optimal whole blood product and the indications for its use.