Apples for Health- 'Young' blood may help cancer patients

'Young' blood may help cancer patients

TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Researches at Israel's Tel Aviv University have determined that transfusions of fresh blood can help a patient fight cancer.

Study leader Shamgar Ben-Eliyahu discovered that a transfusion of "young" blood -- blood stored for less than nine days -- increased the odds of survival in rats with leukemia and breast cancer.

The finding, reported in the journal Anesthesiology, may solve an age-old mystery as to why some blood transfusions during cancer-related surgeries may lead to an increased recurrence of cancer and others do not.

"There is anecdotal evidence pointing to the fact that some surgeons really prefer to use younger blood units. They insist on it. Our research shows their reasoning might be sound," Ben-Eliyahu said in a statement. The oldest blood in a blood bank usually sits on the shelf anywhere from 40 to 42 days before it expires.

The idea that transfusions of "older" blood may increase cancer metastasis remains controversial and negative effects might be limited to specific cancers or special circumstances, Ben-Eliyahu added.