Program Description

While blood component transfusion remains a mainstay of clinical practice in many fields, recent years have brought a heightened awareness of how the benefits of transfusion are accompanied by significant risks. The public remains concerned regarding transfusion-transmitted viral, protozoan and prion disease. American blood centers have recognized the risk of adverse sequelae of bacterial infected platelet products. And the emergence of concern regarding transfusion-related acute lung injury and transfusion-associated graft versus host disease in susceptible transfusion recipients has resulted in changes in practice in both blood donor selection and blood component preparation for transfusion.

Presentation and Speakers

Indications for Red Cell Tranfusions

Speaker: Jeffrey L. Carson, MD, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ

Dr. Carson discussed the indications for red cell transfusion in hospitalized patients, and the benefits of restrictive versus liberal transfusion policies, with an emphasis on the evidence provided by randomized clinical trials.

Guidelines for Platelet Transfusion Therapy

Speaker: Sherrill J. Slichter, MD, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA

Dr. Slichter discussed the dose, timing and threshold for prophylactic platelet transfusions and described the quality of evidence underlying current recommendations.

Prevention and Treatment of Bleeding in Plasma Transfusion

Speaker: Alan Tinmouth, MD, MSc, FRCPC, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Dr. Tinmouth discussed the transfusion of plasma for the prevention and treatment of bleeding, with an emphasis on the evidence that defines appropriate use of plasma and the evidence that determines situations in which plasma transfusion will convey little clinical benefit.

Moderator

Robert Weinstein, MD, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA

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