Near Infrared spectroscopy for Monitoring brain Oxygenation: a single-centre randomised controlled trial of freshly irradiated versus standard red cell transfusion for treatment of anaemia of prematurity (NIMO-Rad)

None listed

Premature babies are prone to developing anaemia because of their immature bone marrow ('anaemia of prematurity'). Anaemia can affect their growth, breathing, and function of important organs such as the brain. Therefore, it is routinely treatment with transfusion of packed red blood cells. Currently, all red blood cells given to premature babies are irradiated before transfusion. This is a safety measure and irradiation prevents a rare but potentially serious complications of blood transfusion (called 'transfusion-associated graft-versus-host-disease'). For logistical reasons, once red blood cells are irradiated they are stored in the Blood Bank for a period of time before they are used. However, findings from our recent study suggests that this practice of storing red blood cells after irradiation may affect the quality and/or function of red blood cells. It is possible that red blood cells which are stored after irradiation are not as good at carrying oxygen to vital organs such as the brain, when compared with freshly irradiated red blood cells. The aim of this study is to find out if freshly irradiated red blood cells (i.e. on the day of transfusion) are more effective in carrying oxygen to the brain of anaemic babies than red blood cells irradiated and the stored before use.