Washington, May 1 (IANS): Using fresh whole blood from a single donor is better than using component blood from multiple donors in pediatric heart surgery, a new study shows.

Fresh whole blood reduces the number of individual blood donors that pediatric heart patients are exposed to, which reduces the risk of acquiring transfusion-related illness.

"The risk for disease transmission in pediatric patients is essentially the same as the risk for adults, but may be more costly over the long term because infants and young children may live longer with chronic illness stemming from transfusion," said lead author David Jobes from the University of Pennsylvania.

The researchers analysed surgical registry data and blood bank records from 1995 to 2010 on 4,111 patients.

Fresh whole blood was available for 3,836 patients, while 252 received only blood components.

Youngest patients with complex procedures were exposed to the highest number of donors whereas older ones with simpler procedures were exposed to the fewest.

"We hope that our research helps to re-examine current blood storage practice and make whole blood more readily available for pediatric patients," Jobes pointed.

"The paper demonstrates very nicely that using fresh whole blood reduces the number of blood donors that patients are exposed to compared to the use of blood components as stated in previous research," concluded Julie Cleuziou from the German Heart Center in Munich.

The study appeared in the journal The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.