Young blood fights cancer

Tel Aviv, Israel, December 31: Tel Aviv University researchers have found that a transfusion of “young” blood that has been stored for less than 9 days increased the survival chances in patients of two types of cancerdefine.

The study led by Prof. Shamgar Ben-Eliyahu from the Department of Psychology’s Neuroimmunology Research Unit may solve an age-old mystery about why the blood transfusions in cancerdefine related surgeries sometimes lead to recurrence of disease and at other times do not. The study also explained that the oldest blood in a blood bank usually sits on the shelf anywhere from 40 to 42 days before it expires.

"There is anecdotal evidence pointing to the fact that some surgeons really prefer to use younger blood units. They insist on it. Our research shows their reasoning might be sound," said Prof. Ben-Eliyahu.

By using an animal model, the researchers conducted tests on rats suffering from leukemia and breast cancer. They found that the odds of surviving the cancer were only compromised if the transfusion blood had been stored for nine or more days.

The other thing is that surgeons commonly transfuse blood from which white blood cells have been removed, believing that these cells can cause harmful effects in the recipient. The study reveals that the red blood cells, not the white blood cells, caused the negative effects. The red blood cells carry oxygen to the body so their transfusions cannot be withheld, but using fresher blood might be better for cancer patients.

The researcher said that there is no difference in autologous blood and blood from other donors. "The age of the blood itself impacts survival. The best recipe for transfusions might be fresh blood from other people. We found no differences between autologous blood and blood from other donors. The latter can be stored for much shorter durations before use," Prof. Ben-Eliyahu said.

"I don't think this study will or should change the practices of surgeons in hospitals, but it is definitely something that needs to be investigated further in human clinical studies. It might have a serious impact on the survival of prostate or colondefine cancers - two cancers that are associated with a lot of bleeding.

"If our research proves to be true in human trials, it should revolutionize the way we look at transfusion in cancer patients," Prof. Ben-Eliyahu further said.

The study was published in the journal Anesthesiology.