Haem-Match Feasibility Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A single centred feasibility study to evaluate and compare the implementation of an antigen-prioritising algorithm with standard care to arrange units for blood transfusion prior to selection by staff at NHSBT
IRAS ID
354482
Contact name
Sara Trompeter
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Blood and Transplant
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
C283428, DHSC-AI Award
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Research Study or Clinical Trial Summary: This study aims to test whether including detailed blood group (antigen) information in the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) system can improve how red blood cell (RBC) units are chosen for transfusions. The new method will be compared with the current system, which mainly sorts blood units by their storage age. The goal is to better match donors and patients, lower the risk of immune reactions (alloimmunisation), and reduce the unnecessary use of rare blood units.
People living with sickle cell disorder (SCD) often need frequent blood transfusions over 12,000 units each month in England alone. Despite current matching methods, around 1 in 5 people living with SCD still develop antibodies against transfused blood. These antibodies can cause severe transfusion reactions, delay treatment, and make finding compatible blood difficult. This shows that current matching processes are not sufficient.
The study team has developed a new computer algorithm, called bloodMatcher, which prioritises antigen matching when listing available blood units for transfusion. This compares with the current algorithm that principally arranges units according to age. The algorithm is designed to handle the complex decisions that human staff cannot easily make balancing antigen compatibility, blood age, patient needs, and available supply. It ensures standard compatibility rules are met first, then considers the risk of alloimmunisation, minimises waste of rare blood, and takes account of stock location. It avoids using very rare units unless absolutely necessary, reserving them for patients who already have multiple antibodies.
Before moving to large-scale use, this feasibility study will assess whether introducing the bloodMatcher algorithm into NHSBT systems is safe and practical, with the aim of improving matching quality, patient safety, and efficiency in blood supply management.
These algorithms, only order the units. The units for transfusion are ultimately selected by NHSBT staff both currently and in the study.REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/WM/0011
Date of REC Opinion
16 Mar 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion