Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 31, 2026

Mapping Infant Immunity with Minimal Input: Integrative Single-cell and Multiomic Profiling
10:29

Mapping Infant Immunity with Minimal Input: Integrative Single-cell and Multiomic Profiling

Published on: April 3, 2026

Mercury content of blood transfusions for infants with extremely low birth weight

Mohamad T Elabiad1, Rebecca E Hook

  • 1Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. melabiad@uthsc.edu

Pediatrics
|July 13, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Packed red blood cell transfusions can contain mercury for premature infants. While generally below safety limits, rare instances exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal care
  • Environmental toxicology
  • Pediatric transfusion medicine

Background:

  • Premature infants (≤1000 g birth weight) often require blood transfusions.
  • Potential for contaminants in transfused blood products is a concern.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if packed red blood cells (PRBCs) are a source of mercury for low birth weight infants.
  • To compare transfused mercury levels against established oral reference doses.

Main Methods:

  • Observational cohort study of infants with birth weight ≤1000 g receiving PRBC transfusions.
  • Prospective testing of PRBC units for mercury levels.
  • Calculation of transfused mercury dose and comparison with ATSDR, WHO, and EPA reference doses.

Main Results:

  • Mercury was detected in 40 of 49 PRBC units.
  • Average mercury level in PRBC units was 1.9 ± 2.6 μg/L.
  • No infants exceeded ATSDR or WHO reference doses; 17 infants exceeded the EPA reference dose.

Conclusions:

  • PRBCs are a source of mercury for infants.
  • Transfused mercury levels are generally low compared to safety standards.
  • Episodes exceeding the EPA reference dose were infrequent, but long-term cognitive effects remain unknown.
Abstract

More Related Videos

Quantitating Iron Transport Across the Mouse Placenta In Vivo Using Nonradioactive Iron Isotopes08:45

Quantitating Iron Transport Across the Mouse Placenta In Vivo Using Nonradioactive Iron Isotopes

Published on: May 10, 2022

Continuous Manual Exchange Transfusion for Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: An Efficient Method to Avoid Iron Overload05:23

Continuous Manual Exchange Transfusion for Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: An Efficient Method to Avoid Iron Overload

Published on: March 14, 2017

Related Concept Videos

Blood Transfusion and Agglutination02:45

Blood Transfusion and Agglutination

Blood transfusion is a therapeutic measure to restore the blood volume after extensive blood loss due to an accident or a medical procedure. Blood transfusion involves drawing a certain amount of blood from a suitable donor and infusing it into the recipient.
History
The history of blood transfusion dates back to the 17th century, when early attempts were made in animals. In 1818 James Blundell, a British doctor, performed the first successful human blood transfusion. Later in 1900, Karl...
Blood Transfusion01:15

Blood Transfusion

Blood transfusion is a critical medical procedure that saves lives and treats various medical conditions. It involves transferring blood from a donor to a recipient. This process requires a thorough understanding of the ABO blood group system and its associated antigens and antibodies.
Blood Transfusion Overview
A blood transfusion is a medical procedure used to replace blood lost due to injury, surgery, or to treat conditions such as anemia or cancer. During a transfusion, donor blood is...
Rh Blood Group01:19

Rh Blood Group

The Rhesus (Rh) antigen is crucial in determining blood groups and ensuring compatibility during blood transfusions.
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Distribution01:17

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Distribution

Drug distribution in the pediatric population exhibits unique challenges and considerations due to the physiological differences between children, particularly neonates and infants, and adults. A crucial aspect of pediatric pharmacology is understanding how these differences impact the pharmacokinetics of various drugs, necessitating age-specific dosing strategies to ensure efficacy and safety.Neonates and infants have a higher total body water content, ~75%–90% of their body weight, compared...
Transcytosis of IgG01:15

Transcytosis of IgG

Transcytosis is the process in which molecules are internalized by endocytosis, transported across the cell, and released through exocytosis from the opposite end of the cell. Molecules such as insulin, immunoglobulins, and certain nutrients are transferred through the recycling endosomes by recycling and transcytosis.
IgG molecules from a mother undergo transcytosis starting around 13 weeks of gestation. The amount of IgG transferred and entering the fetal blood circulation increases with...
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism01:24

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism

In pediatric care, understanding the nuances of hepatic drug metabolism is crucial, as it significantly differs from that of adults. This divergence is primarily due to the developmental stage of drug-metabolizing enzymes, which affects how medications are processed in the body. In neonates, for instance, the activity of Phase I enzymes—critical for the initial breakdown of drugs—is markedly reduced, functioning at just 20–40% of the levels seen in adults. This reduction poses a challenge in...