Why do cancer patients need irradiated blood?

Blood Irradiation To prevent this, some centers irradiate (treat with radiation) blood components for patients receiving intensive chemotherapy, undergoing stem cell transplant or who are considered to have impaired immune system. Irradiation prevents white cells from attacking.

Does irradiation prevent CMV?

However, a variety of specially prepared blood products such as leukocyte-reduced, cytomegalovirus (CMV)-screened, and irradiated blood components are now available to prevent or reduce the adverse effects of contaminating leukocytes (1-5).

Who should get CMV negative blood?

However, CMV can cause serious problems for people who have weakened immune systems, affecting the eyes, lungs, nervous system, and gastrointestinal tract. For that reason, people who are immunocompromised, such as people with HIV or AIDS, should be given CMV negative blood when needed.

Why do you need CMV negative blood?

As with other viruses, once someone has had CMV, their body retains the antibodies. CMV is generally harmless to adults, but can be fatal to babies. For this reason, babies needing transfusions as part of their medical care should only receive blood from donors who have not been exposed to CMV (CMV negative).

Do all chemo patients need irradiated blood?

People who have had CAR T-cell therapy should have irradiated blood products for at least 3 months after their treatment. People who’ve been treated with certain chemotherapy drugs, including fludarabine, cladribine, bendamustine and pentostatin, should have irradiated blood products for the rest of their lives.

What are the end stages of leukemia?

End stage leukemia

  • Slow breathing with long pauses; noisy breathing with congestion.
  • Cool skin that may turn a bluish, dusky color, especially in the hands and feet.
  • Dryness of mouth and lips.
  • Decreased amount of urine.
  • Loss of bladder and bowel control.
  • Restlessness or repetitive, involuntary movements.

What is CMV safe blood?

Prestorage leukocyte reduced blood products have been shown to have an equivalent risk of transmitting CMV as products labeled as CMV-negative, and are therefore considered to be “CMV-safe.”

What patients require the transfusion of CMV reduced risk blood products?

At risk recipients include

  • Pregnant women and their fetuses (to prevent congenital CMV)
  • Low birthweight infants.
  • Hematopoietic progenitor cell transplant recipients.
  • Solid-organ transplant recipients.
  • Severely immunosuppressed patients.
  • Congenital immunodeficiency patients HIV-infected patients.

Do you need CMV negative blood for transfusions?

Donors who have not been exposed to the virus have CMV negative blood, which is important for patients with weakened or underdeveloped immune systems. Are there certain conditions that require antigen-matched blood or CMV negative blood for transfusions?

Do you need a CMV negative filter for erythrocytes?

Therefore, a CMV-negative product is not required. Furthermore, the current generation of prestorage leukocyte filters has significantly decreased the risk of CMV transmission as a result of erythrocyte and platelet transfusion. As such, not all transfusion centers use CMV-negative products for recipients who are CMV seronegative.

How is CMV passed from donor to recipient?

It is passed through close contact with bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, urine, breast milk and more. It is possible for CMV to be passed during an organ transplant or blood transfusion, when the donor is CMV positive and the recipient is CMV negative.

When do you need irradiated blood after chemotherapy?

During and six months post treatment with alemtuzumab. Patients with Hodgkin’s disease require irradiated blood products indefinitely. f) Those receiving purine analogue chemotherapy e.g. cladribine, fludarabine, deoxycoformicin, require irradiated blood products for life.