Accelerated clearance of human red blood cells in a rat transfusion model

BACKGROUND Animal models are valuable in transfusion research. Use of human red blood cells (RBCs) in animal models facilitates extrapolation of the impact of storage conditions to the human condition but may be hampered by the use of cross species. METHODS Investigation of clearance and posttransfusion recovery in a rat model using fresh and stored human RBCs. RESULTS Directly following transfusion, human RBCs could be detected in the circulation of all recipients, with higher recovery rates for stored RBCs than for fresh RBCs. After 24 h following transfusion, no donor RBCs could be detected in the circulation, but donor RBCs could be detected in all organs of all recipients. CONCLUSION The use of human donor RBCs in a rat transfusion model resulted in clearance from cells from the circulation. Donor cells were found in different organs of the recipients. Rat transfusion models are thus not appropriate to study the efficacy of human RBC transfusion.