Introduction: Transfusion plays a main role in supportive treatment for patients who receive an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In this study, we compare the transfusion requirements of patients undergoing different modalities of HSCT according to different time periods. The objective is to assess the evolution of HSCT transfusion requirements over time, from a single institution.
Methods: The clinical charts and transfusion records of patients who underwent HSCT of different modalities at La Fe University Hospital during a twelve-year period were reviewed (2009-2020). For analysis, we divided the overall time into three periods: 1 from 2009 to 2012, 2 from 2013 to 2016 and 3 from 2017 to 2020. The study included 855 consecutive adult HSCT: 358 HLA-matched related donors (MRD), 134 HLA-matched unrelated donors (MUD), 223 umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT) and 140 haploidentical transplants (Haplo-HSCT).
Results: There were no significant differences in RBC and PLT requirements or transfusion independence among the three time periods for MUD and Haplo-HSCT. However, the transfusion burden increased significantly for MRD HSCT during the 2017-2020 period.
Conclusion: despite HSCT modalities having evolved and changed over time, overall transfusion requirements have not significantly decreased and continue to be a cornerstone of transplantation-supportive care.
Keywords: blood transfusion; hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; transfusion independence.