Are
Blood Transfusions bad for your health? No,
says study
Newswise — The August issue of the journal Anesthesiology,
contains a study on potential long-term
adverse effects resulting from blood
transfusion and reveals that moderate
amounts of transfused blood in patients in
patients undergoing cardiac surgery did not
lead to long-term health problems or
increased death rates for the majority of
recipients.
“These results demonstrated that 80 percent of patients studied were
alive more than 10 years after surgery,”
said lead study author William M. Weightman,
M.B., Ch.B., F.A.N.Z.C.A.
About the Study
Researchers in Western Australia studied the
health outcomes of 1,841 patients who
underwent low-risk coronary artery bypass
surgery, following the patients up to 12
years after surgery.
The study included 1,062 subjects who required blood transfusions
before surgery, during surgery or in the
recovery period after surgery.
Subjects were
patients undergoing low risk cardiac
surgery, a surgical procedure that typically
requires blood-product transfusion in 50
percent of patients.
The study determined certain pre-existing patient conditions at the
time of surgery reduced long-term survival
in subjects: advanced age (over 60 years
old), cerebrovascular disease, use of
mammary graft, lung disease, kidney
dysfunction, heart muscle damage and
preoperative anemia]
Additionally, previous research suggested blood transfusions could lead
to serious health issues including adverse
effects on the immune system and spread of
tumor cells.
“We were also hoping to establish if having
a blood transfusion was likely to promote
cancer in the recipient of the blood
transfusion as some research has indicated
this may occur,” said Dr. Weightman.
“Our
results indicate that a moderate blood
transfusion does not promote the spread of
such cells. Patients who receive a blood
transfusion were no more likely to get the
disease than those who did not.”
Anesthesiologists: Physicians providing the
lifeline of modern medicine. Founded in
1905, the American Society of
Anesthesiologists is an educational,
research and scientific association with
43,000 members organized to raise and
maintain the standards of the medical
practice of anesthesiology and improve the
care of the patient.
For more information visit the ASA Web site at
www.asahq.org.
