For Immediate Release: June 21, 2010, 9:00 AM EDT For Immediate
Release: June 21, 2010, 9:00 AM EDT The National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of
Health, is funding nine research grants to determine if the
safety and efficacy of red blood cell transfusions vary
depending on how long the cells have been stored. One of the
grants supports the first large, multi-center, randomized
clinical trial to compare outcomes in heart surgery patients who
receive transfusions of red blood cells that have been stored
for shorter or longer amounts of time. The other eight research
grants provide about $3.9 million per year over four years to
assess the safety and efficacy of red blood cell transfusions.
"These are the first research projects to systematically examine
the storage- and preparation-dependent changes that red blood
cell units undergo, said NHLBI Acting Director Susan B. Shurin,
M.D. "These basic and translational studies embody the NHLBI's
goal to advance the science o