[Antibodies, human leukocyte antigens, and biomodulators in transfusion-related acute adverse effects]

With the onset of the AIDS epidemic, major changes occurred in blood banking and transfusion medicine. These changes occurred mainly in donor selection and screening tests for infectious diseases, blood centers modified their organizational philosophy regarding quality. Transfusion of blood products are procedures that allow us to correct the haematology deficiencies for which was indicated. But today, despite the strict controls that precede transfusion,recipients may have undesirable effects, which are known as adverse effects or adverse reactions to transfusion. Antibodies and antigens of the HLA system plays a role in a series of events related to transfusion, such as immunological platelet refractoriness, febrile non-haemolytic transfusion reactions, transfusion related acute lung injury (TRALI) and transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease. The determination of anti-HLA antibodies is evidence that in most developed countries is used on a daily basis in the regular assessment of patients multitransfused or waiting lists for organs from deceased donors. The biomodulators are able to modify biological responses which act in sequence to lead to the differentiation of T lymphocytes. These agents may subcategorizes those which facilitate a normal immune response, those stimulates the immune response, those are capable of inducing immunosuppression not cytotoxic, and those enhancing the ability of the host to tolerate damage by cytotoxic treatment (transfusion or transplant).