Association of Increased Death in Transfusion Recipients from Young or Female Donors

In an observational cohort study over seven years, 30,503 red blood cells (RBC) transfusion recipients who received close to 188,000 RBC units from 80,755 donors were followed. Researchers analyzed the effect of donor age and sex on the survival of transfusion recipients.  They noted an increase in the risk of death for transfusion recipients receiving blood from either young or female donors.  Recipients who received blood from a female donor had an 8% increase in the risk of death compared to those who received blood from a male donor (P<0.001).  Surprisingly, recipients who received blood from younger donors (17 to 29.9 years old) had a 6% to 8% higher risk of death compared to those receiving blood from donors 40 to 49.9 years old (P<0.001). Since the study was observational, further clinical trials are needed to investigate the effect of donor characteristics on recipient survival.

References:

1. Chasse M, Tinmouth A, English SW, Acker JP, Wilson K, Knoll G, Shehata N, van Walraven C, Forster AJ, Ramsay T, McIntyre LA, Fergusson DA. Association of Blood Donor Age and Sex With Recipient Survival After Red Blood Cell Transfusion. JAMA internal medicine. 2016. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.3324. PubMed PMID: 27398639.
2. Klein HG. Blood Donor Demographics and Transfusion Recipient Survival-No Country for Old Men? JAMA internal medicine. 2016. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.3355. PubMed PMID: 27400131.