Many children with sickle cell disease (SCD) who suffer a stroke receive chronic transfusion therapy (CTT) indefinitely; however, their adulthood neurologic outcomes have not been reported. Understanding these outcomes is critical to inform decisions regarding curative therapy in childhood.

In Canada, as many as 24% of mothers are deferred from cord blood (CB) donation due to risk factors for Zika virus (ZIKV). However, the ZIKV epidemic has waned considerably since 2016, and there has not been any report of ZIKV transmission by CB transplantation, which questions this policy. Thus, we performed an analysis of the risk of introducing ZIKV in the CB supply maintained by Héma-Québec (HQ) and Canadian Blood Services (CBS).

Splitting apheresis platelet (PLT) units increase available inventory during shortages. The impact of prolonged storage in gas-impermeable aliquot bags on PLT quality in vitro and transfusion outcomes in patients remains uncertain.

Transfusion-transmitted malaria (TTM) is rare in non-endemic areas (non-EAs) but can potentially be fatal. This review analyzes the laboratory results of donors causing TTM in non-EAs, to assess the detectability of their Plasmodium infection by molecular or antibody tests.

The characteristic feature of immune cytopenias involves the process of extravascular phagocytosis, wherein macrophages in the spleen and/or liver engage in the destruction of blood cells that have been opsonized by auto- or alloantibodies. Therefore, new treatments that prevent phagocytosis will be advantageous, especially for short-term usage along with alternative options.

Whole blood (WB) is increasingly being used for resuscitation of trauma patients. Although platelet-, red blood cell (RBC)- and plasma-specific parameters in cold-stored WB are well characterized, there has been limited investigation of biological response modifiers (BRMs), which may induce adverse reactions in recipients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality and function of RBC, platelets, plasma proteins, and BRMs in cold-stored WB during storage.

Red cell concentrates (RCCs) may be cryopreserved at Canadian Blood Services (CBS) for up to 10 years; however, inadvertent warming of these units over the prescribed storage temperature (≤ -65°C) may occur. These units may be discarded from inventory to avoid potential adverse transfusion outcomes. This study aimed to assess the quality of RCCs that experienced unintentional transient warming events (TWEs) related to freezer failures.

Pathogen reduction technology (PRT)-treated apheresis platelets (APs) were returned without platelet swirl and with pH < 6.2. The platelet donor was taking prescription levothyroxine and metformin plus over-the-counter medications and supplements. We hypothesized that either PRT or medication was causative.

Volume-reduced platelets can minimize circulatory overload, allergic transfusion reactions, or out-of-group plasma infusion. Our center adopted a volume reduction protocol that includes acidification with acid citrate dextrose solution A (ACD-A) before centrifugation and without any rest period prior to resuspension allowing a better turnaround time for platelet issue.

Emergent transfusion is carried out without standard pre-transfusion serologic testing to detect alloantibodies in patient plasma. Transfusion of red blood cells positive for antigens incompatible with a patient's current or historical alloantibodies risks acute and delayed hemolysis, which may be fatal. Symptomatic and prophylactic treatment of hemolysis secondary to transfusion of incompatible non-ABO antigens using automated red cell exchange has been rarely reported.

Previous reports suggest that blood donors have a lower mortality risk, which may partially reflect the "healthy donor effect" (HDE). HDE arises in donors due to selection bias and confounding if not appropriately addressed.

Donation-related fears are prevalent even among regular donors and can hinder both recruitment and retention. This cross-sectional study aimed to estimate the prevalence of these fears in Italian whole-blood and plasma donors, across different levels of donation experience.

Flow cytometry protocols for counting fresh CD34+ cell samples are not ideal for cryopreserved products due to cryoprotectant cytotoxicity. For cryopreserved samples, often large volumes of hypotonic solutions, which can cause cell death, are used to remove the cryoprotectant with a post-thaw wash. We recently developed a novel multistep dilution method with subsequent flow cytometry analysis to allow for accurate and reproducible results. The previous method involved washing steps which invalidate the ability to enumerate cell recovery, and success had to be gauged solely on viability. The new method allows for assessment of total cell recovery and viable cell recovery.

Blood product constraints have increased the focus on inventory management as blood banks have faced challenges that impact supply chains and donor availability. Solutions often include a reduction in transfusion volumes through multidisciplinary improvements, but this is often coupled with a reduction in blood bank inventory to match reduced demand. We sought to improve inventory availability within the blood bank without modification of transfusion rates through solutions that prevented unnecessary RBC orders and crossmatching.

Some patients express concerns regarding receipt of allogeneic blood transfusions from donors potentially vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). However, limited information exists about patients' expression of these concerns or how to address them during the blood transfusion consent process. In this study, we describe our experience of working collaboratively with patients with vaccine-related transfusion concerns prior to elective surgery, summarizing treatment decisions and clinical outcomes.

Reduced or absent H antigens on red cells with the (para-)Bombay phenotype can arise from FUT1 gene mutations, impacting the structure and function of 1,2-L-fucosyltransferase 1 (1,2-L-FucT1). Here, we identified the novel mutations in one patient displaying the para-Bombay phenotype and examined the potential molecular mechanisms underlying this phenotype.