Aug 21, 2026 · 12 min · 12 segments
Editor's Summary by Linda Brubaker, MD, and Preeti Malani, MD, MSJ, Deputy Editors of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, for articles published from [August 15-21, 2026]().
Preeti MalaniHostLinda BrubakerHost
As our listeners know, platelet shortages are an ongoing clinical concern, especially since standard platelets expire quickly and more than two point two million platelet units are transfused each year in the US to prevent and treat bleeding.
In the CHIPS trial, Dr. Spinella and colleagues asked whether platelets stored cold could last longer and still control bleeding during cardiac surgery.
This was a Phase three multi-center randomized trial among pediatric and adult patients at twenty-seven sites in the US and Australia undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.
Patients were randomly assigned two to one to cold-stored platelets for a maximum of twenty-one days or room temperature platelets stored up to seven days.
Among nine hundred and eighty-nine patients in the primary analysis, cold-stored platelets were non-inferior for the main bleeding outcome, which was a hemostatic efficacy score at every storage duration tested with greater than ninety-nine point nine percent probability of non-inferiority.
Chest tube output at twenty-four hours, which was a secondary outcome, and safety outcomes were similar overall, although re-exploration rates were higher in the cold-stored group.
The practical takeaway is that cold storage may reduce waste and improve platelet availability without sacrificing hemostatic effectiveness.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Hess says that this could be a major shift in transfusion practices as a longer shelf life could reduce waste, shortages, and bacterial testing burdens.
Dr. Hess also notes that more work is still needed in other clinical settings and on practical questions like warming and transfusion workflows.
As our listeners know, platelet shortages are an ongoing clinical concern, especially since standard platelets expire quickly and more than two point two million platelet units are transfused each year in the US to prevent and treat bleeding.
In the CHIPS trial, Dr. Spinella and colleagues asked whether platelets stored cold could last longer and still control bleeding during cardiac surgery.
This was a Phase three multi-center randomized trial among pediatric and adult patients at twenty-seven sites in the US and Australia undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.
Patients were randomly assigned two to one to cold-stored platelets for a maximum of twenty-one days or room temperature platelets stored up to seven days.
Among nine hundred and eighty-nine patients in the primary analysis, cold-stored platelets were non-inferior for the main bleeding outcome, which was a hemostatic efficacy score at every storage duration tested with greater than ninety-nine point nine percent probability of non-inferiority.
Chest tube output at twenty-four hours, which was a secondary outcome, and safety outcomes were similar overall, although re-exploration rates were higher in the cold-stored group.
The practical takeaway is that cold storage may reduce waste and improve platelet availability without sacrificing hemostatic effectiveness.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Hess says that this could be a major shift in transfusion practices as a longer shelf life could reduce waste, shortages, and bacterial testing burdens.
Dr. Hess also notes that more work is still needed in other clinical settings and on practical questions like warming and transfusion workflows.
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