Blood Donor Sex and Outcomes in Transfused Infants

Emerging literature on the potential impact of the sex of blood donors on outcomes in transfused neonates and infants reports conflicting findings. Additional studies are needed to address this uncertainty, including both epidemiologic studies and mechanistic studies evaluating relevant factors that could explain if there is an impact of blood donor sex on neonatal outcomes and physiology. These studies may provide additional information to either support or refute findings from current observational studies, which would be important to establish before clinical trials of donor selected RBC transfusion are pursued, as has been recently done in adults.61 Beyond donor sex, additional studies into what is being transfused may guide future improvements in neonatal transfusion therapy.