Abstract: Objective To analyze the effect of washed red blood cells(wRBC) transfusion in treatment of children with severe or intermediate β-thalassemia. Methods Twenty-three children at the age of 3~4 were selected and all of them had the same blood transfusion experience. Hemoglobin levels were tested in the children who sufferred from severe or moderateβ-thalassemia and underwent 21 times of blood transfusion with wRBC in each type of disease. and frequency of adverse effects of transfusion was observed. Results All the children investgated showed no adverse transfusion reaction. Children with severe type of β-thalassemia exhibited a lower increase of hemoglobin [（1.62± 0.26） g/L per kg] than those with moderate type of the disease[（1.17± 0.23） g/L per kg] after use of one unit of wRBC（P< 0.05）. Conclusion Hemoglobin level improvement in the children with severe type of β-thalassemia is not remarkable when compared with those who have moderate type of the disease after wRBC transfusion. Clinically, a relative high level of hemoglobin, and transfusion safety as well, should be ensured during wRBC transfusion.

Key words: β-thalassemia, Blood transfusion, Washed red blood cell