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New Information on Blood Donation
| How do donors respond to disasters versus appeals? Do facilities honor requests for directed donations from unvaccinated donors? New research presented at the AABB Annual Meeting in October 2025 tackled these questions and gave critical insights into the nation’s blood supply |
Articles
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Practical Guidance for Prehospital Transfusion by Emergency Medical Services
The rapid expansion to 46 U.S. states underscores the growing acceptance of prehospital transfusion by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) as a lifesaving intervention, though implementation is heterogeneous across jurisdictions and dependent on medical oversight, logistics, and reimbursement. PLUS is highlighting two articles this month, beginning with a review by Levy et al 1 of the
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What Are CAR-T Cells and What Is the American Red Cross Doing About Them?
T-cells play a pivotal role in the immune system’s response to cancer. Unlike B-cells which make antibodies, T-cells act directly in a cell-to-cell fashion. CAR-T stands for chimeric antigen receptor T-cells. The word “chimeric” means having parts from two or more origins. To accomplish this, T-cells are collected from the blood of a patient or
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Cold-Stored Platelets and Room Temperature Platelets
With the introduction of cold-stored platelets (CSP) into practice, transfusion services have encountered challenges in interpreting FDA guidance. The FDA indicates that CSP may be used to treat active bleeding when conventional platelets—room temperature platelets (RTP)—are unavailable or impractical to use.1 In addition, the FDA requires transfusion services to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) that
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How important is leukoreduction of low titer group O whole blood?
The use of low titer group O whole blood (LTOWB) has increased in recent years, predominantly in the setting of adult trauma resuscitation. While randomized control trials have not yet shown LTOWB to be superior to standard component therapy, several clinical trials designed to test this hypothesis are ongoing. Most LTOWB units undergo prestorage leukoreduction
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Published by the American Red Cross, Plus Online features leading research and trending topics related to transfusion medicine. By promoting innovation within the field and leveraging the insight from our authors and thought leaders, we provide a resource that helps you continue your education and support best patient care.