Background

Currently, packed red blood cells are allocated according to relatively few patient-specific criteria - the AB0 blood group, rhesus type, and, in some instances, the Kell blood group system. Effective hemotherapeutic treatment with few side effects requires the selection of the most suitable blood product for each recipient. To date, there is no registry in Germany that systematically compiles clinical data on administered blood transfusions.

Methods

ReMeDi:Blut ("Registry for medical data and antigenic properties of blood products") aims to initiate a national registry for the centralized collection of data on transfusions performed in Germany. Using an evidence-based approach and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven assessment, the properties of blood products and clinical data of recipients will be accessed and connected to the central register via local bridgeheads at each participating treatment site.

Results

ReMeDi:Blut is intended to be a research registry with freely accessible interfaces for various hospitals to participate in. In the future, the acquired data may be used to gain important insights through AI-driven operations. This process could make more specific properties of blood products available, avoid incompatibilities and identify rare donors through big data. A more precise characterization of blood products, including molecular genetic blood typing, e.g. based on real-time PCR or next-generation sequencing (NGS), may allow for significantly more blood group antigens to be considered in the selection process of blood products. Overall, ReMeDi:Blut may help prevent the overuse, underuse and misapplication of blood products.

Conclusion

By implementing a national registry for the collection of data on transfusions performed in Germany, ReMeDi:Blut could make healthcare provision more efficient by distributing transfusions in a more targeted fashion. This could avoid the unnecessary administration of blood products and enable a comprehensive, AI-driven analysis of the factors that influence clinical outcomes.

Offenlegung Interessenkonflikt:

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding: This project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF) as part of the funding initiative 'Medical Technology Solutions for Digital Healthcare' ('Medizintechnische Lösungen für eine digitale Gesundheitsversorgung'), field of action 'Gesundheitswirtschaft im Rahmenprogramm Gesundheitsforschung' (reference number/ Förderkennzeichen 13GW0620A).

Figure 1: Diagram showing the general ReMeDi:Blut project design. Detailed information regarding each blood transfusion will be transmitted from local sites to a central registry, where they will undergo an AI-based assessment to analyze antigenic properties and clinical data, improving the selection of the most suitable blood product for each recipient.