Genetics and machine learning can improve blood transfusion outcomes

Genetics and machine learning can improve blood transfusion outcomes The availability of blood for blood transfusion support is critical for the delivery of medical care. When a person donates blood, it is separated into different components: red cells, platelets, white cells and plasma. Better blood transfusion outcomes for patients and better protection of the NHS blood supply can be achieved with machine learning, argue Drs Samuel McDermott, Nicholas Gleadall and Sara Trompeter. Red cell transfusion is used to treat patients who have lost red cells due to trauma or surgery or who are unable to make healthy red cells. To support over 500,000 transfusions annually, NHSBT issues 1.4 million blood units collected from 800,000 donors.