2016 proceedings of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's scientific priorities in pediatric transfusion medicine

Abstract

have the potential to transform the clinical practice of pediatric transfusion medicine. By applying basic, translational, and/or clinical research studies focused in six areas the science of transfusion medicine would be advanced. The six areas were selected based on recognized gaps in knowledge and included neonatology and perinatology, oncology and transplant, chronic transfusion, devices and surgery, intensive care, and trauma and teenage blood donation. The meeting and premeeting teleconferences included 80 participants representing multiple stakeholders, academic medicine, the basic and clinical research community, and the government. The participants had expertise in multiple relevant disciplines including transfusion medicine, pediatrics, neonatology, hematology, surgery, critical care, trauma, internal medicine, epidemiology, and study design. The speakers and participants identified research priorities based on unmet needs in the pediatric transfusion medicine arena and proposed strategies to overcome the knowledge gaps and address unanswered questions. ABBREVIATIONS: ECMO 5 extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; HSCT 5 hematopoietic stem cell transplant; ICU 5 intensive care unit; MRI 5 magnetic resonance imaging; NHLBI 5 5 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; NICHD 5 National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; NISHOT 5 noninfectious serious hazards of transfusion; PICU 5 pediatric intensive care unit; PRT 5 pathogen reduction technology; REDS 5 Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study; SCD 5 sickle cell disease; VAD 5 ventricular assist device. From the

Consensus Recommendations for RBC Transfusion Practice in Critically Ill Children From the Pediatric Critical Care Transfusion and Anemia Expertise Initiative

“…The funding priorities for research in RBC transfusions can hopefully be aligned with these recommendations. It is encouraging to see the research focus complement other efforts in pediatrics, such as the NHLBI state of the science initiative (51).…”

Development, validation, and potential applications of biotinylated red blood cells for posttransfusion kinetics and other physiological studies: evidenced‐based analysis and recommendations

“…While similar studies have been performed using glycerolized 51 Cr‐labeled RBCs, use of BioRBCs would permit concurrent, multi‐BioRBC‐N density PTR 24 studies to examine the effect of duration of BioRBC storage at 4 or –20°C (when glycerolized). Such studies have potentially important clinical and research applications …”

Recent advances in transfusions in neonates/infants

“…One of the biggest impediments to advancement of neonatal transfusion research is that there are no vein-to-vein databases, registries, or networks that include neonatal RBC transfusion-relevant data with outcome or donor linkage to recipients in sufficient detail 28 . The dire need of big data applications in transfusion medicine research 29 is even more palpable in neonatal transfusion medicine 28 . This has been identified in scientific proceedings of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 30 .…”