The red blood cell storage lesion: a method to the madness

Whether transfusion of “older” blood is as beneficial as transfusion of “fresher” blood is a topic of active debate. Considering the sheer volume of recent publications including some excellent reviews and a meta-analysis on the issue, one may wonder why there is a need for yet another editorial addressing one more observational study on the subject. Distinctively, this editorial strives to 1) examine how a well-conducted observational study can intelligently inform a scientific debate, 2) demonstrate the benefit of evaluating an issue from a variety of angles using different study methods, and 3) illustrate how research in transfusion medicine can impact and promote scientific knowledge in other fields.

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