Innovations in transfusion practices Indications, products, and monitoring

Blood transfusion practices have come a long way since the introduction of blood banks, which revolutionized medicine by enabling widespread use of whole blood and plasma. In the decades that followed, the focus gradually shifted toward transfusing specific blood components, such as red cell concentrates (RCCs) and platelet concentrates (PCs). Continuous improvements in safety and quality have firmly established transfusion as a life-saving intervention across diverse clinical settings, from the operating room to intensive care. Despite these advances, transfusion medicine often still follows a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, overlooking the specific functional needs of different patient populations and transfusion product characteristics. Looking ahead, additional challenges also emerge, including the upcoming ban on di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in RCC storage bags, which necessitates the evaluation of alternative options, as well as the ongoing pursuit of non-invasive measurement techniques to enhance patient safety. This thesis presents a series of studies on Innovations in Transfusion Practices, with a central focus on Indications, Products, and Monitoring. A central theme in this thesis is the evaluation of storage durations and the use of biotinylated blood products. The findings support a more personalized approach for PCs, while also demonstrating acceptable outcomes for a new non-DEHP blood bag system for RCCs and highlighting the potential of innovative medical devices for non-invasive hemoglobin measurement.