ABSTRACT
The clinical course of allogeneic bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplant patients is frequently complicated by graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). This condition results when lymphocytes in the donor hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) component recognize the HLA antigens of the recipient as foreign, generating a characteristic immune response (1,2). Fever, diarrhea, liver function test (LFT) abnormalities, and a characteristic cutaneous rash are the major clinical manifestations of this condition. However, GVHD may also result from the infusion of viable T lymphocytes within cellular blood components. This condition, which is accompanied by marrow aplasia and pancytopenia, was first described in 1966 (3). In the following decades, subsequent reports established transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GVHD) as a distinct disease entity. TA-GVHD is resistant to most immunosuppressive therapeutic modalities. Consequently, treatment is rarely successful, making the recognition of patient groups warranting preventive measures essential.
