Transfusion of D+ red blood cells to D– individuals in trauma situations

To conserve D– red blood cells (RBCs), our facility developed a policy for transfusion of D+ units to D– patients, particularly in trauma situations. To our knowledge, this is the first study looking at D-mismatched RBC transfusion in trauma patients. We developed guidelines for the transfusion of D-mismatched RBCs. Patients were followed by antibody screening and direct antiglobulin testing. Twenty-six patients were identified, and 57.7 percent of the cases were the result of trauma. Follow-up ranged from 7 to 455 days. The trauma cohort had a follow-up of 7 to 102 days. Overall, patients were transfused with 1 to 36 units of D-mismatched RBCs. Three patients produced alloanti-D, resulting in a 20 percent rate of antibody formation in trauma patients. We found an overall antibody formation rate of 11.5 percent compared with 21.4 to 30.4 percent in previous studies. Approximately 58 percent of our study population was composed of trauma patients. Within that cohort, the formation of anti-D was 20 percent, similar to the rate seen in previous studies looking at primarily non-trauma populations. Immunohematology2014;30:149–152.