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Why INTERCEPT

Non-Infectious Risk

Leukocytes and Transfusion-Associated Graft-vs-Host Disease

Residual leukocytes in donated platelets may increase risks of adverse reactions such as transfusion-transmitted graft-vs-host disease (TA-GVHD) or pulmonary injury.1-4

TA-GVHD is a rare, but fatal complication in which leukocytes that may be present in donated blood or blood components transfused to the patient and mount an immune response against the patient’s cells.

  • TA-GVHD generally occurs only in immunocompromised patients, but there are cases reported in immunocompetent individuals.5-7
  • TA-GVHD is frequently misdiagnosed and under-reported; some patients that do not meet criteria for irradiated blood have developed TA-GVHD.4-8
The INTERCEPT® Blood System for Platelets Pathogen Reduction System is FDA approved as an alternative to irradiation for prevention of TA-GVHD.9,10

“Pathogen-reduced platelets provide a higher margin of safety through reduced bacterial contamination, viral and emerging infectious risk as well as reduced risk in inadvertently transfusing an unirradiated product. This is particularly important for our hematology-oncology patients who require large quantities of platelets and are exposed to many donors.”

Jerry E. Squires, MD, PhD

Medical Director of Transfusion Service,
Professor of Pathology and Transfusion Medicine
Medical University of South Carolina

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References:

  1. Wheeler AP, et al.. Blood Adv. 2024 Mar 6:bloodadvances, Epub ahead of print.
  2. Hong H, et al. Blood 2016;127:496-502.
  3. Sridhar S, et al. RadioGraphics 2022;42:38-55.
  4. Yu Y, Lian Z. Front Immunol. 2023 May 12;14:1175387.
  5. Thaler M, Shamiss A, Orgad S, et al. The Role of Blood from HLA-Homozygous Donors in Fatal Transfusion-Associated Graft-versus-Host Disease after Open-Heart Surgery. New England Journal of Medicine 1989;321:25-8.
  6. McMilin K, Johnson R. HLA homozygosity and the risk of related-donor transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease. Transfus Med Rev 1993;7:37-41.
  7. Kopolovic I, Ostro J, Tsubota H, et al. A systematic review of transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease. Blood 2015;126:406-14.
  8. Kleinman S, Stassinopoulos A Transfusion 2018 Nov;58(11):2545-2563.2023.
  9. INTERCEPT Blood System for Platelets Package Insert; Cerus Corporation.
  10. “Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services,” AABB, 34th edition, 2024.