Is it safe to use lower blood counts (haemoglobin levels) as a trigger for blood transfusion in order to give fewer blood transfusions?

<p>Blood transfusions are a very common medical procedure, and it’s important to balance the potential benefits and harms. In December 2021, Jeffrey Carson from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, in New Brunswick in the USA, and colleagues updated the Cochrane Review of research comparing different triggers for transfusing red blood cells and we asked him to tell us more about the importance of the review and its findings.</p>