Storage time of allogeneic red blood cells is associated with risk of severe postoperative infection after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Objective: The storage time of allogeneic red blood cells (RBCs) has been linked with the risk of severe postoperative infections following cardiac surgery. However, existing data are sparse and inconsistent. We therefore examined the association between the age of transfused RBCs and development of severe postoperative infection following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in a large population-based cohort study.