Blood Synergy

Overview

Visit the main Blood Synergy website

The NHMRC Blood Synergy is an award-winning NHMRC-funded program of research concerned with blood transfusion practice and patient outcomes. It brings together experts from across Australia and New Zealand to focus on making better use of blood products and improving outcomes for patients requiring blood as a result of trauma, critical illness, or blood disease.

Blood products are a precious resource with a finite shelf-life and specific storage requirements; maximising the safety and efficacy of blood products saves lives and money, and acknowledges the generosity of donors.

Medical events requiring blood product transfusion may be unexpected and occur in settings where access to blood products is limited. There is also a lack of evidence to guide best practice, including on how blood is used, clinical outcomes, costs, and patient and clinician preferences.

The Blood Synergy Program addresses these shortcomings through a collaborative research approach and studies that seek to better understand current blood product usage across Australia; evaluate the most efficient use of products in critical scenarios; and prevent and manage bleeding, anaemia and infection in people with blood diseases.

Investigators

  • Professor Erica Wood AO, Principal Investigator (Monash University)
  • Professor Zoe McQuilten, Chief Investigator (Monash University)
  • Professor Michael Reade AM, Chief Investigator (University of Queensland)
  • Professor Simon Stanworth, Chief Investigator (Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust)
  • Professor Judith Trotman, Chief Investigator (Concord Repatriation General Hospital)
  • Associate Professor Craig French, Chief Investigator (Western Health)
  • Dr Thao Le, Chief Investigator (Monash University)
  • Professor Peter Cameron, Chief Investigator (Monash University)
  • Professor Dennis Petrie, Chief Investigator (Monash University)
  • Dr James Daly, Chief Investigator (Australian Red Cross Lifeblood)
  • Dr Lisa Higgins, Chief Investigator (Monash University)
  • Professor Jamie Cooper AO, Chief Investigator (Alfred Health)
  • Ms Linley Bielby, Chief Investigator (Department of Health, VIC)

View the full list of investigators, partners and staff on the main Blood Synergy website

Current projects

  • The National Transfusion Dataset (NTD) is establishing the first integrated national database of blood usage in Australia
  • FEISTY II: an MRFF-funded phase III randomised clinical trial examining the effect of fibrinogen concentrate compared to standard care, cryoprecipitate in severely injured bleeding adult trauma patients
  • Development of clinical decision support systems for critical bleeding
  • Prehospital pilot trial of lyophilised plasma
  • Observational studies of blood product use in intensive care, including the Australian and New Zealand arm of the InPUT study
  • Red blood cell thresholds in patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
  • REDDS2: an NHMRC-funded trial evaluating assess a novel transfusion schedule in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes
  • Observational studies to determine the true total cost of red blood cell transfusion in myelodysplasia (TRUSTT-MDS)
  • RATIONAL Platform: an MRFF-funded adaptive platform trial focused on optimisation of immunoglobulin replacement for infection prevention in blood cancer patients
  • RATIONALISE trial: an NHMRC-funded randomised controlled trial comparing the use of immunoglobulin or antibiotics for infection prevention in blood cancer patients
  • TREATT: a trial evaluating if tranexamic acid is an effective treatment for bleeding in patients with haematological conditions
  • Observational studies of immunoglobulin use in patients with blood cancers
  • Convalescent plasma for treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) through REMAP-CAP and ASCOT

Funding sources

Funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council in 2020, the Blood Synergy was recognised with the inaugural Fiona Stanley Synergy Grant Award at the NHMRC Research Excellence Awards, signifying the integrity of the Program’s design, and the great value of the research to the community.

Program administration and collaboration

Our research program is managed by Monash University’s Transfusion Research Unit, in collaboration with the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre and Centre for Health Economics, and supported by the invaluable contributions and expertise of our investigator team, working groups, advisory committee, and individual researchers spanning Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Contact Us

Principal Investigator, Professor Erica Wood AO
erica.wood@monash.edu

Program Manager, Dr Karina Brady
bloodsynergy@monash.edu

Phone
+61 3 9905 6069

Mail
Blood Synergy Program Manager
c/- Transfusion Research Unit
Monash University
553 St Kilda Road
Melbourne VIC 3004