Related Experiment Videos
Transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease in a patient with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia
L R Munro1, D J Culligan, A Grant
1Department of Haematology, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, UK. laura@cosmics.force9.co.uk
Background And Objectives:
Routine irradiation of cellular blood products is not presently recommended for patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).
Materials And Methods:
We report the case of a 72-year-old-man with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia who developed transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GvHD) 13 days following a non-irradiated red cell transfusion.
Results:
The patient had not previously received purine analogues and none of the donors was homozygous for a human leucocyte antigen (HLA) haplotype that was shared by the recipient. Therefore, his only apparent risk factor was lymphoplasmacytoid NHL.
Conclusions:
This case further strengthens the argument that NHL per se is a risk factor for TA-GvHD and supports the proposal that the guidelines for prophylactic irradiation of cellular blood products be extended to include all cases of NHL.