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Introduction: during the neonatal period seventy to ninety percent of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (birth weight < 1500 g), are transfused with red blood cells (RBC) at least once; that represents infectious, biochemical, immunologic and oxidative risks. The objective of this paper is to describe the epidemiological profile of the VLBW infants that are transfused with RBC., Methodology: a retrospective review of 61 VLBW newborns admitted to the Neonatology Unit of a tertiary care hospital in Monterrey, México was conducted. The sample was collected consecutively. The information included the newborns epidemiological profile and the characteristics of transfusion events., Results: the prevalence of transfused newborns was 70.5%, 82 transfusions were in the early postnatal period (<28 days) and 32 in the late postnatal period (> or = 28 days); 43.9% of newborns had mechanical ventilation and their fraction of inspired oxygen was > or = 0.3. Mean birth weight and standard deviation of VLBW newborns were 1206 +/- 198 g; the hematocrit before transfusion was 33.63 +/- 4.17 mg/dL, and the RBC volume per transfusion was 16.85 +/- 4.85 mL. On average, the newborns had two donors and two transfusions., Conclusions: the epidemiological profile of the newborns included in this analysis was similar to published international reports. The transfusion characteristics suggest the possibility to apply restrictive guidelines and to evaluate a single-donor blood program for these newborns.