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Patients with unknown blood types can receive O Rhesus D-positive blood cell concentrates in urgent red blood cell transfusions, according to a prospective, single-center observational study.
This transfusion policy appeared associated with low risk for inducing anti-D alloimmunization, and it saved 10% of total demand for O Rhesus Dnegative red blood cell concentrates.
The blood group O Rhesus D negative can universally donate to other blood groups; however, providing ABO-negative and Rhesus-specific red blood cell concentrates to patients in the ED with massive bleeding is not always feasible.
Common practice for those who require emergency transfusion includes transfusion with four to six O Rhesus Dpositive red blood cell concentrates until the blood group has been determined.
Only 6% to 8% of the blood donor population has the blood group O Rhesus D negative, whereas approximately 85% of emergency patients are Rhesus D positive, Kathleen Selleng, MD, of the department of immunology and transfusion medicine at University Medicine Greifswald in Germany, and colleagues wrote.
"The use of O Rhesus D-negative red blood cell concentrates as universal blood, therefore, leads to an over proportionately high consumption of O Rhesus D-negative red blood cell concentrates and, consequently, increases the risk for shortages" Selleng and colleagues wrote.
The researchers hypothesized an alternative transfusion policy-which included use of O Rhesus D-positive red blood cell concentrates for emergency transfusion of patients with unknown blood types - could reduce possible shortages of O...