Age of blood: does it make a difference?

Table 1 Red blood cell storage lesion

Storage effects	Consequences
Decreased 2, 3-diphosphoglycerate	Increased oxygen affinity and decreased oxygen unloading by hemoglobin
ATP depletion	Erythrocyte shape changes
	Increased osmotic fragility
	Decreased deformability
Microvesiculation and loss of lipid membrane	Decreased erythrocyte viability
Lipid peroxidation	Cellular injury and death
Bioactive substance generation: histamine, cytokines, lipids	Febrile transfusion reactions
	Neutrophil priming/endothelial activation
	Cellular injury
	Transfusion-related acute lung injury
	Multiple organ failure (?)

ISSN: 1364-8535