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I've heard more than one doctor say that transplant outcomes are statistically better if the patient has had fewer transfusions. On the other hand, I haven't heard that they would instruct a patient not to have a transfusion that he or she needs or to rush into a transplant that he or she might otherwise avoid, just because of that statistic. I wouldn't worry about needing transfusions since you can't do much about it.
We already know other reasons to minimize transfusions: less iron buildup, less buildup of the proteins that can lead to transfusion rejection, fewer needle jabs, fewer infection opportunities, less time spent in the treatment center, less cost, and more blood supplies for everyone else. Perhaps what it tells us is that patients should not have transfusions long before they are near their personal low threshold (before low counts get too risky or lead to too many symptoms). But when you need blood, you need blood.
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