ABSTRACT
T he irrad ia tion o f b lood p roducts using high-energy rad ia tion (gam m a rays) is exclusively perfo rm ed to prevent a rare b u t fatal com plication o f b lood tran sfu sion, know n as transfusion associated graft versus host disease (TA-GVHD). O ther form s o f rad ia tion involving the u ltravio let region (UV) have been used experi m entally alone o r in com bination w ith photochem ical agents to inactive leuko cytes o r m icrobes in blood products, b u t are n o t in rou tine use at th is tim e. These b lood p roducts could also be called “irrad ia ted b lo o d ”. It is im p o rtan t to appreci ate th a t only b lood products, w hich contain viable cells, need irrad ia tion , and it is a com m on erro r to request irrad ia tion o f acellular products such as plasm a or cryoprecipitate.
