Adverse Effects of RBC Transfusions: A Unifying Hypothesis
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT00838331. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
Transfusion of red blood cells is often used in critically ill patients with low red blood cell counts to prevent disease progression and death. Recent studies suggest that the use of "aged" versus "fresh" red blood cells are associated with worse clinical outcomes. There is evidence that red blood cells work with the cells lining our blood vessels to produce a variety of substances that normally cause arteries to relax and increase blood supply. Two of these substances are called nitric oxide (NO) and endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF). The investigators are trying to determine the nature of these substances in human beings when they are transfused "aged" versus "fresh" red blood cells. It is their thought that "aged" red blood cells have less of the substances (NO and EDHF) that naturally relax our arteries and further changes the blood supply. One way to determine this is to transfuse a subject's own "aged" and "fresh" red blood cells and inject substances such as L-NMMA (L-NG monomethyl arginine) and TEA (tetraethylammonium chloride), which block the production of NO and EDHF respectively, and then, study what happens to the blood flow. There is evidence that red blood cells produce NO, which normally causes arteries to relax and increase blood supply. The investigators will try to determine the nature of NO in red blood cells and whether the amount of this substance is altered because of different blood processing and storage techniques. It is their thought that "aged" red blood cells have less NO that naturally relaxes our arteries and further changes the blood supply. This study is designed to determine the most ideal way of storing and processing blood.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT00838331
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Enrollment
- 24 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 21 Years to 80 Years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepts healthy volunteers
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Mar 31, 2009
- Primary completion
- Apr 30, 2013
- Completion
- Sep 30, 2013
- Last update posted
- Mar 5, 2015
2009 – 2013
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emory University | Atlanta | Georgia | 30322 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT00838331, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Mar 5, 2015 · Synced Sep 5, 2026
Related: full search, browse by condition, browse by drug or therapy, browse by sponsor, browse by U.S. city.
Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT00838331 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.