lmmunosuppresive agents in stored blood from healthy donors

Abstract

More than one hundred studies have been conducted over the past twenty live years investigating the immunological basis of transfusion induced immunomodulation also the metabolic and the fi.mctional integrity of the cellular components of blood have been extensively studied during and after long-tcnn. Only few studies addressed the question whether the immunological changes occuning during blood storage related to transfusion induced immunomodualtion.

Since the early work of Opelz eta/., (1973), allogeneic blood transfusion

has

been known to downregulate the recipients immune system. The

immunosuppressant might be beneficial tor allobrraft survival but, there were also repmis of increased tumour recunence and post operative infection rate atkr allogeneic blood transfusion ( BlimbeiJ' eta/., /990).

It is generally accepted that the immunosuppressive effect of allogeneic transfusion results from donor leukocytes and possibly plasma pyrogens and cytokines ( Anneke, 1994).

Wadliwa et at., (2000) suggested that, there ts a time dependent cxtracclluar accumulation of certain cytokines during storage as a result of granulocyte disintegration and release of intracellular bioactive substances.