‘Ottawa’ Transfusions From Young Females Could Negatively Impact Mortality Rates
Transfusion recipients of red blood cells from young, female donors might have a higher mortality rate, according to a recent study.
Dr. Dean Fergusson, a senior scientist and director of The Ottawa Hospital’s clinical epidemiology program, said the study linked 30,503 transfusion recipients between October 2006 and December 2013 with 80,755 donors to look at whether age or gender had an impact on survival rates.
Fergusson, who is also a professor at the University of Ottawa, said it was no surprise that recipients of blood from men had a lower mortality rate but he thought the study would show that the younger the donor the better the outcome.
Recipients of red blood cells from women between the ages of 17 and 20 had an eight per cent increased risk of death per unit transfused compared with the age range 40 to 50, he said.
