Transfused RBC Survival in Very Low Birth Weight Infants

The textbook descriptions of red blood cell (RBC) survival are that newborn RBC survival is shorter than adult RBC for a number of reasons. Widness et al asked if RBC survival from transfused adult blood differed from autologous RBC in sick, very low birth weight infants. Their anticipation was that transfused adult RBC would survive longer than endogenous RBC in the circulation of the premature infant. They labeled adult RBC and autologous RBC from the preterm infants with different amounts of biotin and tracked transfused RBC survival over 7 weeks. They also tracked cells in some infants with mismatched Kidd antigen to verify the biotin labeling techniques did not change RBC survival. Interpretation of the experiment was complicated by repeated blood sampling and transfusions in this sick premature population. Nevertheless, RBC from adults and premature infants had similar survival rates for weeks after transfusion. This unanticipated result using high-resolution techniques challenges past information about the survival of the infant RBC. The circulatory environment of the very low birth weight infant is determining the survival of both autologous and adult RBC. The techniques used for this study could be profitability applied to learn more about RBC survival in other clinical settings in infants and children. Article page 1001▶ Autologous Infant and Allogeneic Adult Red Cells Demonstrate Similar Concurrent Post-Transfusion Survival in Very Low Birth Weight NeonatesThe Journal of PediatricsVol. 167Issue 5PreviewBased on the hypothesis that neonatal autologous red blood cell (RBC) survival (RCS) is substantially shorter than adult RBC, we concurrently tracked the survival of transfused biotin-labeled autologous neonatal and allogeneic adult RBC into ventilated, very low birth weight infants. Full-Text PDF