Exchange transfusions with concentrated ACD-blood. I. Effects on the infant's red cell volume, plasma volume and haemoglobin mass.

During ten exchange transfusions, the infant's gain or loss of haemoglobin, and of the volumes of red cells and plasma were studied quantitatively The gain or loss of haemoglobin was found to be closely correlated to the difference between the haemoglobin concentration of the given blood and that of the infant before the exchange transfusion. The standard ACD-blood used was hypo-osmolar (NIH sol. B) and its red cells overhydrated. During the exchange, the cells returned to normal and released water, about 10 ml per kg of the infant's bodyweight. Haematocrit readings therefore are unsuitable for the judgement of the ACD donor blood's oxygen transport capacity. As a rule, less plasma was given than removed. However, if the above-mentioned water, released from the red cells, was included in the "given" volume, the latter became almost equal to the volume removed.