Should fresh blood be recommended for intensive care patients?

Abstract

Fresh blood has many potential advantages over older blood, but there is no evidence that these properties translate into clinical benefit for intensive care patients. The observational multicenter study by Karam and colleagues provides some evidence suggesting that blood stored for less than 14 days is better than older blood in terms of new organ failure and reduction in length of stay in pediatric intensive care units. Though in favor of using young blood, this study suffers from several limitations. As a consequence, it is ethical and certainly pertinent to conduct a randomized clinical trial in order to test the hypothesis that fresh blood might reduce mortality. The rationale is strong and the potential benefit of fresh blood is substantial. © 2010 BioMed Central Ltd.