Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Jul 09, 2026 1 hour, 13 minutes ago
Medical News: Antioxidant May Help Keep Stored Blood Healthier for Longer
Researchers from the Unit of Functional Proteomics, Metabolomics and Network Analysis at Centro Cardiologico Monzino IRCCS in Milan, Italy, together with the Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS in Milan, Italy, have found that the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) can reduce many of the damaging changes that occur when donated whole blood is stored for extended periods.
Researchers found that the antioxidant NAC helps protect stored blood from oxidative damage and preserves red
blood cell quality during long-term refrigeration
Whole blood can be refrigerated for weeks before being used for transfusions, especially in trauma and emergency care. However, storage gradually causes “storage lesions,” a collection of changes that weaken red blood cells and reduce blood quality. The researchers investigated whether NAC, a well-known antioxidant, could slow these harmful effects during 42 days of refrigerated storage.
Oxidative Stress Damages Blood Over Time
The team discovered that prolonged storage increased oxidative stress, a process in which unstable molecules damage cells and proteins. One of the clearest signs was a sharp decline in the protective form of the blood protein albumin, while its oxidized form increased significantly. At the same time, red blood cells became more fragile and released larger amounts of free hemoglobin into the plasma, including oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, and methemoglobin, all indicators of cell damage and breakdown.
The stored blood also showed changes in dozens of proteins linked to immune and defense responses, suggesting that the storage process affects far more than just red blood cells.
NAC Protected Blood in Several Ways
In this
Medical News report, one of the most important findings was that NAC helped preserve the natural antioxidant balance within stored blood. It restored healthier albumin levels, reduced oxidized albumin, and significantly lowered the buildup of damaged hemoglobin released from breaking red blood cells.
Interestingly, a 10 mM dose performed just as well as 20 mM, showing that increasing the concentration offered no additional benefit. The researchers also found that a single dose of NAC added at the start of storage was often as effective, or even more effective, than repeated dosing every 10 days.
Red Blood Cells Stayed More Stable
The researchers used advanced laboratory technology to measure how flexible and durable red blood cells remained after storage. Normally, stored cells become less flexible, more fragile, and less capable of moving through tiny blood vessels efficiently. NAC partially prevented these changes by improving measures related to cell hydration and resistance to osmotic stress while also reducing spontaneous hemolysis, the breakdown of red blood cells.
Although NAC did not completel
y stop every storage-related change, the antioxidant consistently reduced oxidative injury and helped maintain better overall blood quality.
Conclusion
The findings suggest that adding NAC before refrigerated blood storage could become a simple strategy to better preserve donated whole blood by reducing oxidative damage, limiting red blood cell breakdown, protecting important blood proteins, and maintaining healthier cell function, although larger clinical studies are still needed before routine adoption in blood banks.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Antioxidants.
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/15/7/858
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https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/scientists-warn-of-autoantibodies-found-in-donated-blood-from-recovered-covid-19-patients
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/scientists-from-slovakia-explore-how-melatonin-helps-protect-red-blood-cells-against-oxidative-damage
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