UV blood irradiation

[katrinadams9]

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Do you guys learn about this in med school? If so, what is it and what can it be used for? A patient asked about it and I had no answer for her. I've been searching the internet but most of what I've found seems like propaganda (no scientific articles).

 

[Ferrismonk]

I used to work in a blood bank, so I'll try to give you some info. Most blood products today are leukoreduced with a filter so when a patient receives RBCs, platelets, etc, they don't get a large amount of WBCs too. This used to be the leading cause of febrile transfusion reactions. When patients are immunocomprimised, think cancer patients, the few WBCs in the blood unit can cause graft versus host disease. This is where the blood unit attacks the patient. Since the patient doesn't really have any functioning immune system themself, the attacking WBCs have free reign to wreak havoc with your patient. By irradiating the unit prior to transfusion, any DNA is destroyed in the unit, which kills the WBCs (and to a lesser extent any possible bacerial/viral contaminants). Since RBCs and platelets don't have DNA, they are not affected. There is no risk to the patient if the blood unit is irradiated, it is not radioactive. It is actually safer than a normal RBC unit.

I hope this helps. 🙂

 

[gildas]

I used to work in a blood bank, so I'll try to give you some info. Most blood products today are leukoreduced with a filter so when a patient receives RBCs, platelets, etc, they don't get a large amount of WBCs too. This used to be the leading cause of febrile transfusion reactions. When patients are immunocomprimised, think cancer patients, the few WBCs in the blood unit can cause graft versus host disease. This is where the blood unit attacks the patient. Since the patient doesn't really have any functioning immune system themself, the attacking WBCs have free reign to wreak havoc with your patient. By irradiating the unit prior to transfusion, any DNA is destroyed in the unit, which kills the WBCs (and to a lesser extent any possible bacerial/viral contaminants). Since RBCs and platelets don't have DNA, they are not affected. There is no risk to the patient if the blood unit is irradiated, it is not radioactive. It is actually safer than a normal RBC unit.

I hope this helps. 🙂

Nice way to put it Ferrismonk. Btw it's good to see a fellow blood banker here. I see your status is Non-Student, but i have to ask are you in or going into medicine?

 

[nlax30]

Good info Ferrismonk! I had no clue either. Figured it must have been something like that, just don't have any personal experience with it.

OP: Do you have access to UptoDate of Stat!Ref? Haven't looked on StatRef but UptoDate has some blurbs about it (I just did a search for blood irradiation).

Irradiated red cells — In order to avoid the occurrence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in patients who have hereditary immune deficiency states, transfused red cells must be subjected to irradiation with at least 25 Gy to prevent the donor T lymphocytes from dividing in the recipient [23]. Irradiation to prevent GVHD is also recommended for red cells collected from relatives entered in directed donation programs. It is currently controversial whether irradiated red cells should be used for transfusion in patients immunosuppressed by large doses of chemotherapy or by AIDS. (See "Transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease").

 

[Ferrismonk]

Nice way to put it Ferrismonk. Btw it's good to see a fellow blood banker here. I see your status is Non-Student, but i have to ask are you in or going into medicine?

I am currently a non-student and work as a Med tech. I am however, accepted to MSUCOM for the class of 2012, so I'll be a med student starting in June. 😀

 

[gildas]

I am currently a non-student and work as a Med tech. I am however, accepted to MSUCOM for the class of 2012, so I'll be a med student starting in June. 😀

Sweet. I am a first year student at ATSU-SOMA. I was working in a reference blood bank lab for about a year after graduating in 2006.

 

[katrinadams9]

I guess I'm just skeptical because this is what one doc claims that it does:

Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation may improve your health by:
· Inactivation of toxins
· Destruction and inhibition of bacteria, viruses and fungi by activation of white blood cells function
· Stimulation of cellular immunity
· Activation of steroid hormones and stimulates corticosteroid production
· Improved circulation and decreased platelet aggregation
· Vasodilation – dilates blood vessels
· Decreased blood viscosity – improved blood flow
· Increases oxygenation in the blood

Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation has been used to treat the following conditions:
· Allergies – inhaled and food
· Autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and Sjorgen's Syndrome
· Cancer – various types including breast, colon, prostate, bone, ovarian and leukemia.
· Chronic candidiasis (chronic yeast overgrowth)
· Chronic fatigue syndrome and conditions
· Chronic Hepatitis B & C
· Circulation problems
· Emphysema – chronic lung conditions
· Hepatitis A
· Herpes simplex
· Immune deficiency diseases
· Infections – bacterial, viral and fungal (including MRSA)
· Inflammatory conditions – arthritis, bursitis, iritis, pancreatitis, etc.
· Lyme Disease
· Mononucleosis
· Multiple Sclerosis
· Osteomyelitis
· Pain
· Peripheral vascular disease
· Shingles
· Toxicity
· Various other common medical conditions

 

[DarksideAllstar]

I'm an AP/CP Pathology resident (so I spend a good number of months working in the Blood Bank). The info presented early on by the blood bank techs is about right on spot. Essentially the reason that you irradiate blood products is to prevent transfusion associated graft vs host disease (TA-GVHD), which has a very high mortality rate. This renders the lymphocytes in the unit incapable of functioning. There are a few instances when product irradiation is needed:

1) Patients on high dose chemo
2) Patients with certain lymphomas (Hodgkin lymphoma, as an example)
3) Patients receiving a directed blood donation from a close relative
4) Patients who are candidates for bone marrow transplants (like w/i the next year)
5) Premature neonates

The only reason that we routinely give irradiated products is for TA-GVHD. I cannot speak to any of the claims that you listed, although just glancing at them I don't see how irradiation would be able to do any of what you listed. We definitely do not irradiate products to inactivate CMV-- thats where leukocyte reduced and CMV negative units come into play. Happy blood banking.

 

[EastWestN2grt]

I guess I'm just skeptical because this is what one doc claims that it does:

It sounds like what you are referencing about, and what the Blood lab techs are talking about are different things, using a similar name. From the list you provided of 'claims' made by the doctor you were referencing, I would also be skeptical. Is it the same procedure, or is this doc trying to sell you something else entirely, for 9 low payments of $19.95 and if you are one of the first 50 callers you will get a set of kitchen knives at NO EXTRA COST!!!

Its probably wise to be skeptical..

 

[Ferrismonk]

Its probably wise to be skeptical..

I agree. I can't think of anything that would do all those things. Shingles is a skin condition, just saying "pain" is pretty vague, and how can introducing RBCs to the circulation decrease blood viscosity? It makes no sense.

 

[Lamborghini1315]

I believe even when DNA is damaged, it has mechanisms to repair itself several research papers have been written on how this process works. I am pasting a link to this one research that shows blood drawn from far aged patients is less likely to be proficient in repairing their damaged DNA after irradiation. Infact it said they lacked DNA repair..i didn't read the whole article yet. Anyways, ideally you would want blood donors to be your close relatives siblings would be even better. Then again a lot goes on into blood typing and trying to find a match that would avoid rejection by the host.

http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/3/1/45

 

[mrsa2000]

I am proud to see fellow blood bankers out there. I worked in a blood bank for 3.5 years in infectious disease testing, transfusion services, and donor collection and processing. We are a different kinda people,those of you who work in the lab know what I am talking about.

I don't think we used U.V., I believe we used cesium to irradiate.

Lamborghini1315, you don't need to have a family member donate blood for you. The most important part it is about compatability(ABO), just to keep it simple.

Another thing for those future physicians, when requesting emergency blood units, don not ask for type specific blood!!!!!!!! The term you are looking for is uncrossmatched. I encounter this way too much in the emergency room with the new residence.

 

[Trisomy 8]

deleted

 

[uppi]

For compatibility, you do not need family members, in fact that could be a bad idea if you are a type B, for example, while one parent is AB and the other is A. You inherit the B gene from the AB parent and the recessive O gene from the A parent, making your genotype BO or type B phenotype. Recieving blood from either of these parents would cause a pretty severe HTR. The best blood that any one person can get is autologous blood.

 

[Lamborghini1315]

For compatibility, you do not need family members, in fact that could be a bad idea if you are a type B, for example, while one parent is AB and the other is A. You inherit the B gene from the AB parent and the recessive O gene from the A parent, making your genotype BO or type B phenotype. Recieving blood from either of these parents would cause a pretty severe HTR. The best blood that any one person can get is autologous blood.

haha yes yes everyone gets the blood typing part, i was simply trying to point out previously that sometimes active leukocyte contamination during transfusions can cause adverse effects. So yeaaa that was my focus...