A Review of Whole Blood: Current Trauma Reports

Purpose of Review: Interest in whole blood transfusion, particularly in trauma resuscitations, has been growing over the last decade. This has led to more data from civilian trauma centers on the efficacy of whole blood compared to component therapy, the safety profile, and the hemostatic effects of cold-storage. Recent Findings: The summation of recent data suggests that whole blood is at least as effective as component therapy in trauma resuscitation although data is limited to relatively small volumes (< 6 units). The effect of leukoreduction on platelet function and other hemostatic markers appears to be small in vitro, but clinical data is lacking. There is virtually no data on massive resuscitation with whole blood (> 10 units) except for case reports. Summary: Resuscitation with whole blood appears to be safe and offers some advantages over component therapy. More clinical data is needed on the safety of whole blood in massive resuscitation and the potential hemostatic effects of whole blood transfusion.