There is no increased risk for mortality among patients receiving red blood cell transfusions from female, previously pregnant, or sex-discordant donors, according to a study published in the issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Gustaf Edgren, M.D., Ph.D., from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues used data from three retrospective cohorts of transfusion recipients (the Kaiser Permanente Northern California [KPNC; 34,662] and Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study-III [REDS-III; 93,724] databases [2013 through 2016] and the Scandinavian Donations and Transfusions [SCANDAT; 918,996] database [2003 through 2012]) to examine associations between blood donor sex and prior pregnancy and mortality of transfusion recipients.

The researchers found that the median number of red blood cell transfusions per patient was three in the KPNC cohort, two in the REDS-III cohort, and three in the SCANDAT cohort. The percentage of transfusions ranged from 39 to 43 percent for female donors, from 9 to 25 percent for previously pregnant donors, and from 44 to 50 percent for sex-discordant donors. Across cohorts, no statistically significant associations were noted between these three donor exposures and in-hospital mortality.

"We proactively address potential risks to the blood supply, and we take this seriously," Edgren said in a statement. "Transfusions are very common procedures, and our findings ensure that the current practice is safe and doesn't need to be changed."

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