blood transfusion rate

2025-10-03

a common miscalculation i witness as a nurse is how others calculate the blood transfusion rate to complete the transfusion within the set hours.

you were asked to give the red blood cell (prbc).
it's ordered to be transfused within 4 hours.
the volume of the bag is 240mls.
 
how would you set the rate?

i see others set it at 60ml/h too often (including chatgpt).

if you set the rate by dividing the volume by hours e.g. 240ml / 4h = 60ml/h, it can never finish within the set hours.

you should aim a little bit faster.