BACKGROUND Red blood cell (RBC) alloantibodies to nonself antigens may develop after transfusion or pregnancy, leading to morbidity and mortality in the form of hemolytic transfusion reactions or hemolytic disease of the newborn. A better understanding of the mechanisms of RBC alloantibody induction, or strategies to mitigate the consequences of such antibodies, may ultimately improve transfusi...

To evaluate the specific reactivity of HLA Class I antibodies (HLA-I Abs) in acute non-hemolytic transfusion reactions (ANHTRs) using solid phase assays (SPAs) and conventional complement-dependent lymphocyte cytotoxicity test (LCT). ANHTRs are major issues in transfusion medicine. Anti-leukocyte antibodies have been implicated as one of the causative agents of transfusion-related acute lung in...

Canada's per capita use of intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) grew by approximately 115% between 1998 and 2006, making Canada one of the world's highest per capita users of IVIG. It is believed that most of this growth is attributable to off-label usage. To help ensure IVIG use is in keeping with an evidence-based approach to the practice of medicine, the National Advisory Committee on Blood an...

Extramedullary plasmacytomas (EMPs) are defined by the presence of clonal plasma cell proliferation outside of the bone marrow, portending an overall poor prognosis. This case highlights extramedullary plasmacytomas as an unusual presenting manifestation of multiple myeloma. Through incidental discovery during a delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction workup, EMPs were found in the liver, spleen...

Infantile pyknocytosis is a rare cause of neonatal jaundice and hemolytic anemia. We report on two cases in twin girls that were diagnosed on peripheral blood smear reading. Pyknocytosis should be considered in cases of early unexplained severe hemolytic anemia, and systematic peripheral smear review performed. Its management consists of phototherapy and RBC transfusion.

abstract background multiple transfusions in thalassemia patients may lead to antibody production against blood group antigens and hemolytic transfusion reaction might occur. in this study, antibody screening test was performed by tube and gel methods to determine the prevalence and specificity of alloantibodies in thalassemia patients. materials and methods in this cross-sectional study, overa...

BLOOD is good for you. What Goethe described as “ein ganz besonderer Saft” is the very stuff of life. It is not blood but other people’s blood that worries us. We have good reason for this concern. For more than 300 years, the therapeutic promise of blood transfusion has been tempered by the recognition of adverse reactions, often mild, but occasionally acute, dramatic, and lethal. The public h...

Hemolytic disease of the newborn due to ABO incompatibility was first observed by Halbrecht in 1944. This entity has a spectrum ranging from minimal hemolysis requiring no therapy, as is the case in most instances, to severe hemolytic disease requiring aggressive management including exchange transfusion in a small percentage of cases. An extreme degree of hemolytic disease of the newborn due t...

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the use of alternative treatment methods in hemolytic disease of newborn to replace common early exchange transfusion. METHODS: Case report of newborn with intensive Rh incompatibility treated with intensive phototherapy, plus phenobarbital instead of traditional early exchange transfusion.RESULTS: The neonatés cord blood showed 9.2 mg/dL of total bilirubin and 39% hematoc...