In premature infants there is no decrease in 24-hour posttransfusion allogeneic red blood cell recovery after 42 days of storage.

These data provide evidence that storage duration of allogeneic RBCs intended for neonates can be increased without affecting PTR24 . This conclusion supports the practice of transfusing RBCs stored up to 42 days for small-volume neonatal transfusions to limit donor exposure.