Practical dosimetric aspects of blood and blood product irradiation

The method of choice to reduce susceptibility to transfusion-transmitted graft-versus-host disease is irradiation of allogenic blood and blood products for transfusion to immunosuppressed recipients. Optimal irradiation requires delivery of a known and homogeneous absorbed dose. The use of absorbed dose in air measured at the center of the irradiation volume without proper compensation for sample absorption can lead to approximately 20 percent underexposure. A lucite cylinder was used to provide the delivery of a homogeneous irradiation dose to blood products of different volumes by allowing rotation of the product.