DEHT is considered a safer alternative to DEHP, a commonly used plasticizer with potential toxicological risks. We aimed to compare the storage efficacy of red blood cells (RBCs) in DEHT bags containing two different additive solutions: SAGM and PAGGSM. A second objective was to evaluate the effect of transport/later processing in France (Etablissement Français du Sang [EFS]) on Day 1 versus early processing/transport in Belgium (Service Francophone du Sang [SFS]) on Day 0 before storage on the quality of blood components.RBC quality, including haemolysis and supernatant metabolic parameters, as well as plasma quality parameters, was measured over a period of 49 days and 2 years for RBC and plasma, respectively.RBCs stored in DEHT/PAGGSM bags showed superior quality preservation compared to those stored in DEHT/SAGM bags, with lower haemolysis rates (p < 0.01 for EFS and p < 0.05 for SFS) at the end of storage and better preserved adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels over time at the EFS site (p < 0.01). No significant differences were observed in the measured plasma quality parameters.DEHT blood bags combined with PAGGSM additive solution are a promising and safer alternative to DEHP/SAGM bags for RBC storage. The DEHT/PAGGSM combination results in improved preservation of RBC quality and stores plasma units adequately, compared to the DEHT/SAGM combination. Our take-home message is that processing and transport times which mimic routine practices for blood centres that are distant from collection sites do not affect the quality of blood components stored in DEHT.