• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Transfusion News
  • About Us
  • Topics
    • Adverse Events (non-infectious)
    • Blood Donation
    • Cell Therapy
    • Coagulation & Plasma Transfusion
    • Platelet Transfusion
    • Policy and Guidelines
    • Quality Control and Regulatory
    • RBC Transfusion
    • Serology/Genotyping
    • Special Transfusion Situations
    • Transfusion Transmitted Infections
  • Continuing Education
  • Archives
  • Podcasts
  • Question of the Day
  • Search
  • Subscribe to Email Alerts
  • Follow us on
  • Search
  • Subscribe to Email Alerts

A New, Simple Proxy to Measure Oxygen Unloading and the Quality of Stored Blood

January 16, 2025

The functional quality of transfused blood depends upon oxygen delivery to the tissues. Oxygen carrying capacity is easily and routinely measured using hemoglobin assays, but the kinetics of oxygen unloading from RBCs is more difficult to measure, especially in a blood bank setting. Researchers, however, recently found a simple proxy to estimate the time constant of oxygen-unloading (τ). Since cell shape relates to the metabolic state of RBCs—fresher RBCs are biconcave with wider side-scatter compared to more spherical, older RBCs—researchers found that oxygen unloading could be estimated using a ratio between side and forward light scattering data routinely collected on hematology analyzers. This ratio referred to as FlowScore is able to predict with greater than 80% sensitivity and specificity freshly drawn blood from expired blood. FlowScore was verified using data from four national blood-banking systems in Australia, Canada, England and Spain. Moreover, biochemical rejuvenation of stored RBCs restored FlowScore values to the fresh reference range. Based on two large data sets (COMPARE and LifeLines), FlowScore increased with age, was lower in females, and was affected by smoking. FlowScore is a cost-effective, accessible surrogate of oxygen unloading from RBCs and may be used as a proxy of the functional quality of blood.

Reference:

Rabcuka J, Smethurst PA, Dammenrt K, Saker J, et al.  Assessing the kinetics of oxygen-unloading from red cells using FlowSccore, a flow-cytometric proxy of the functional quality of blood. eBioMedicine 2025

Filed Under

  • News
  • Platelet Transfusion
  • Quality Control and Regulatory
  • RBC Transfusion

Recommended

  • No Evidence of Transfusion-Transmission of Neurodegenerative Disorders

  • Blood Use After Mass Shootings

  • Coagulopathy in Patients with COVID-19—Interim Guidance from the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis

Show Comments

Comments on this article are closed.

Get the latest news. Subscribe to our mailing list. Sign Up

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • Babesia Infection Reduces Red Cell Deformability

  • New Erythropoietin Gene Variants Linked to Hereditary Erythrocytosis

  • Multifaceted Threats to the Blood Supply from Climate Change

  • Distinct Roles for Differently Aged Platelets

    Question of the Day

    Copyright © 2025 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    Privacy Policy

    Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies Wiley