Aliquoting of red blood cells for transfusion in pediatrics.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVES

Small-volume transfusions of red blood cell (RBC) aliquots are a very common practice across the world; however, there is a lack of data on various strategies of aliquot preparation and their utilization.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A descriptive retrospective study, from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, was conducted at the blood center of a government-owned children's teaching hospital in India. The study aimed to analyze the practices of preparation, utilization, and practice of various number of RBC aliquots prepared.

RESULTS

A total of 222 RBC units were divided into 591 aliquots with a mean volume of 98.4 ± 32.3 ml (median 100 ml; 2.66 aliquots per RBC unit). Out of these 222 RBC units, 81 were split into two aliquots (Group 1); 141 RBC units were split into three (Group 2) and 6 units were prepared into four aliquots (Group 3). A total of 577 patients (359 male; 218 female) were transfused (2.3% of aliquots discarded due to expiry). 85.2% (492 of 577) of children who were transfused these aliquots were <2 years of age. The majority of RBC aliquots (>80%) were prescribed by the department of pediatric medicine (35%). Groups 2 and 3 were aliquoted from significantly fresh RBC units (mother unit) compared to aliquots prepared in Group 1.

CONCLUSION

Our data show a high utilization rate (97.3%) of RBC aliquots at our institute. Uniform practices in aliquoting practices will help us harmonize the data as well as establish best practices in neonatal and pediatric transfusion practices.