Jeffrey L. Carson, provost and Distinguished Professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, led both studies. The 2023 trial—referred to as MINT (myocardium infarction and transfusion)—looked at transfusions in anemic patients following a heart attack.

After that 2023 trial, Carson planned a study on blood transfusions that combined data from similar trials to generate more precise estimates of treatment effects.

In cooperation with researchers in France and the United States, Carson acquired data from the four clinical trials evaluating blood transfusion in 4,311 patients with heart attacks. These trials included patients who had a heart attack and low blood count. Half the patients received fewer blood transfusions and the other half received more blood transfusions. The trials compared the frequency of death at 30 days or recurrent heart attacks and death at six months.