Hello,
I need your help with transfusion of packed red blood cells in pediatric cardiac surgery. Our surgeon requests washed and irradiated red blood cells for all children up to three months old and for children over three months, only if it is the second procedure. Did we ask why? However, he could not answer.
It is important to say that we provide red blood cells of 5 to 7 days of storage, only that is 3-5 days post-irradiation and identical ABO.
I believe it has no significant benefits. Some studies say that washing minimizes the risk of inflammation, but it is not a consensus.
Other risks seem to me to be more worrying than the benefits pointed out, such as:
Risk of contamination - our service does not have automation for the washing of red blood cells;
Loss of yield - in addition to the loss of cells that occurs during the procedure, mechanical trauma can accelerate the process of hemolysis of more fragile cells;
Anyway, I would like to know your opinion on this subject and what is the practice adopted by your service?
Thanks for any input,