TO#1: Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study-III (REDS-III) - International Sites

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Investigator: Edward Murphy, MD, MPH

Location(s): South Africa; China; Brazil

Description

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has launched a seven-year multicenter research program to extend a highly successful program assessing blood banking (blood collection, screening, and processing strategies) and transfusion medicine practices. Research conducted both in the U.S. and internationally under the Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study-III (REDS-III) will focus on improving transfusion benefits and reducing its risks.

The objectives of REDS-III are to ensure safe and effective blood banking and transfusion medicine practices through a comprehensive, multi-targeted strategy involving basic, translational, and clinical research.
REDS-III will build upon and extend the findings of the original REDS and REDS-II programs, and cover several new research areas. These include finding new ways to enhance transfusion safety and the practice of blood banking as well as helping reduce the transmission of HIV and other infectious agents, such as hepatitis B and C, in nations in which these agents continue to limit the safety of the blood supply. 

 

Underscoring the importance of global blood safety, the international portion of REDS-III involves collaboration between investigators in the U.S. and scientists at blood centers in Brazil, China, and South Africa.

  • The Blood Systems Research Institute in San Francisco is collaborating with the Fundação Faculdade de Medicina and Hospital das Clinicas of the Medical School of the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, with the participation of four blood centers located in Belo Horizonte - Minas Gerais (Fundação Hemominas), Recife - Pernambuco (Fundação Hemope), São Paolo (Fundação Pró-Sangue), and Rio de Janeiro (Fundação Hemorio);
  • The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore is collaborating with the Chinese Institute of Blood Transfusion, with participation of five blood centers located in Kunming, Urumqi, Luoyang, Chongqing, and Mianyang;
  • The University of California San Francisco is collaborating with the South African National Blood Service, which operates across all of South Africa except the Western Cape.

A major research focus of the international sites will be to identify effective ways to reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS and other known and emerging infectious agents through transfusion.