TRANSFUSION-ASSOCIATED GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST DISEASE

Abstract

Transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GvHD) is a very rare but potentially lethal complication occurring after blood components transfusion. Goal of the article: to analyze the literature describing this complication. TA-GvHD can develop due to several factors: quantity and viability of lymphocytes, contained in the transfused blood component, responsiveness of the patient's immune system to replantation of donor lymphocytes and degree of immunological HLA-homology between the donor and the recipient. History and epidemiology of this fatal syndrome, its pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnostics and therapy have been reviewed. It has been shown that the main prevention techniques include abstaining from blood components transfusion collected from close relatives and using special irradiation modes, suppressing proliferation of the donor's lymphocytes. Conclusion: Doctors performing blood components transfusion should note that post-transfusion reaction development in the variant of graft-versus-host might develop in order to provide timely diagnostics and to start the specific treatment of this complication.

Keywords

• transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease
• aortocoronary bypass
• artificial blood circulation
• hla-typing
• gamma-irradiation
• x-ray irradiation of blood components
• evaluation of allele discrimination of high-polymorphic markers