White blood cell-reactive antibodies are undetectable in solvent/detergent plasma

Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is a life-threatening complication of transfusion. Although all types of blood products have been associated with TRALI, fresh-frozen plasma (FFP) is the most commonly implicated component. It has been postulated that TRALI is an immune-mediated event, because white blood cell (WBC)-reactive antibodies in the donor's plasma are frequently associated with the syndrome. In contrast to single donor-derived FFP, solvent/detergent (S/D) plasma is produced from multiple donations, leading to an at least 500-fold dilution of a single plasma unit. It was hypothesized that WBC-reactive antibodies are undetectable in S/D FFP.

Twenty batches of S/D FFP (5 of each ABH group) were analyzed with well-established routine techniques to detect WBC antibodies.

All samples tested negative for granulocyte-specific as well as HLA Class I and Class II antibodies.

Different strategies to reduce the risk of TRALI are currently discussed. These include screening of all potentially immunized donors for WBC-reactive antibodies and exclusion of multiparous or all women from donating FFP. Here, it is demonstrated that neither granulocyte- nor lymphocyte-reactive antibodies are detectable in S/D FFP. Thus, S/D FFP may represent a potential alternative to reduce the risk of TRALI associated with the transfusion of FFP.