Assessment of hemoglobin content of packed red cells: A prospective study on hemoglobin content variation due to donor, collection, and processing-related factors. Is it time to label each unit with hemoglobin content?

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion continues to be administered on the basis of conventional wisdom and the notion of an average benefit per unit. The present study was aimed at estimating the hemoglobin (Hb) content in packed red blood cell (PRBC) units in three types of blood donors: Replacement blood donor (RD), First time voluntary blood donors (FTVD), and Regular/Repeat voluntary blood donors (RTVD). Methods: A total of 900 blood donors were divided equally into three groups of blood donors. Within each group, 100 collections were done in Double 350 ml, Triple 450 ml and quadruple 450 ml blood bags, respectively. The Hb concentration of the PRBC unit was done after the collection of representative samples from the PRBC unit. The volume of the PRBC unit was estimated by the formula: Weight of PRBC divided by its specific gravity. The net Hb content in the PRBC unit was calculated by the formula: Hb of PRBC multiply by its volume. Results: Net Hb content of 900 PRBC units were in the range of 30.77–87.36 g; mean was 52.91 ± 9.99 g. Net Hb content of PRBC bag was lower in PRBC prepared from RD as compared to FTVD and RTVD. We observed a range of net Hb content in the PRBC units and Hb content strongly correlated with the volume of PRBC. Conclusion: The present study shows that there is a range of Hb content of PRBC units. Adopting a policy of optimizing the dosage of RBC transfusion could have the potential to significantly improve RBC use and decrease patient exposure to allogeneic blood.