Warming blood before transfusion. Does immersion warming change blood composition?

Area of Science:

• Transfusion Medicine
• Blood Banking
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Warming blood for transfusion is crucial to prevent hypothermia.
• Current methods like blood-warming coils have limitations.
• Alternative safe and effective warming techniques are needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the safety and efficacy of immersion water bath warming for stored blood.
• To assess biochemical and morphological changes in blood after warming.
• To compare immersion warming with existing blood warming methods.

Main Methods:

• Stored blood (CPD-adenine anticoagulant) was warmed in a water bath at 25°C, 37°C, and 45°C for up to 2 hours.
• Warming was repeated after 2 and 4 weeks of refrigerated storage (4°C).
• Biochemical and morphological parameters of the blood were analyzed post-warming.

Main Results:

• Warming blood via water bath resulted in only trivial biochemical alterations.
• Morphological integrity of blood components was largely maintained after warming.
• No significant detrimental effects were observed within the tested parameters and storage durations.

Conclusions:

• Immersion water bath warming is a safe and practical method for preparing blood for transfusion.
• This technique presents a reasonable alternative to blood-warming coils.
• Further investigation into other aspects of immersion warming is warranted.