A stored RBC component can be described by what it contains, the integrity of its cells and the function measured under defined conditions. These are separate observations. Our oxygen-delivery science section places these measurements within the wider path from hemoglobin to tissue exchange.
What the kidney study tested
Rabcuka and colleagues divided donor RBC units between conventional and hypoxic storage for approximately three weeks, then switched the preparations during ex vivo human kidney perfusion. This allowed comparison within the organ-perfusion setting. Read the original study.
Measured changes in oxygen handling
Hypoxic compared with conventional RBC preparations in the perfusion-switch experiment.
The increases were reversible. Diffusion capacity and respiratory rate describe different endpoints; neither percentage is a general transfusion conversion factor. The authors also tracked storage-related changes using FlowScore, a cell-shape surrogate associated with oxygen-release kinetics.
What functional characterization should record
Our interpretation is that a research comparison should state exactly which property is being tested. Hemoglobin content, oxygen-release behaviour and an organ response belong in separate fields. Combining them into one label would make it harder to explain what a preparation contains and what it does under the tested conditions.
A prospective comparison could ask:
- How were each component’s hemoglobin content and storage history measured?
- What assay conditions were used for oxygen unloading, and how reproducible were the results?
- Which perfusion variables and organ endpoints were recorded alongside the RBC measurements?
- Does a laboratory signal predict a relevant organ or recipient outcome in an independent study?
These are proposed assessment questions. They connect this paper with our source-linked discussion of functional oxygen delivery and the transplant-related evidence catalogue.
The boundary of the evidence
The experiment used isolated human kidneys. It did not test patient transfusion outcomes, post-transplant survival or BHOC. Its percentages should therefore retain the named model and endpoints whenever they are cited.
This is external evidence about stored donor RBCs. The BHOC research question remains separate: what product-specific functional measurements and organ studies would be needed to assess an oxygen-delivery approach? A relevant external finding helps define that question; it cannot supply the answer for BHOC.
Original source
Rabcuka J, Fallon J, Meli A, et al. Storage under hypoxia improves the ability of red cells to release oxygen in ex vivo-perfused human kidneys. Blood Red Cells & Iron. 2026;2(1):100038.
DOI: 10.1016/j.brci.2025.100038 · Publisher record and article
Source review: publisher abstract and DOI bibliographic record checked on 3 October 2026. This brief does not include independent reanalysis of the study data.