Thesis Sarah Valk

On 1 February 2024 Sanquin researcher Sarah Valk defended her thesis 'Out for blood: causal inference in clinical transfusion research' at Leiden University.

Promotors: Prof JG van der Bom MD PhD and Prof JJ Zwaginga MD PhD
Copromotor: C Caram-Deelder PhD
Venue: Academy Building, Leiden University

Summary

Blood products, by many measures, have evolved to be an extremely safe and fundamental part of hospital care. Moreover, they are a valuable resource that should be respected and safeguarded. In this thesis, we studied the relation of donor and product characteristics with patient outcomes in detail. By using thorough epidemiological methods, we found that there are still causes for concern pertaining to donor characteristics and transfusion recipient outcomes. In all chapters, in addition to describing the results and the most relevant aspects for clinical transfusion practice, we extensively described study limitations, and in a number of chapters we acknowledge that methodological limitations preclude causal claims. It should be noted that the goal of the research included in this thesis is not to criticize the use of blood products as a whole. Rather, the continuous improvement of a therapy’s safety and effectivity for those in need of it is always justified, and is the ultimate target of the research described here.

Chapters

Chapter 1
General introduction and outline of the thesis

Chapter 2
Donor sex and recipiënt outcomes

Chapter 3
Donor pregnancies and transfusion recipiënt mortality: a role for red blood cell storage? abstract

Chapter 4
Convalescent plasma or hyperimmune immunoglobulin for people with COVID-19: a rapid review abstract

Chapter 5
Transfusion of ever-pregnant donor red blood cells and mortality of male patients

Chapter 6
Clinical transfusion-outcomes research: a practical guide

Chapter 7
General discussion and summary

Download

Download PhD thesis (university repository)

Thesis_Sarah_Valk