Prevention of post-transfusion graft-versus-host disease.

Post-transfusion graft-versus-host disease (PT-GVHD) is a rare complication of blood transfusion. However, it occurs not only in immunosuppressed patients but also in immunocompetent patients, and is a phenomenon with a heavy mortality rate of more than 90 percent. At present, the use of blood irradiated is considered the most effective method of preventing of PT-GVHD. However, there are some unsettled problems such as the appropriate dose of irradiation, the influence of irradiation on the function of blood components, the elevation of potassium levels and the selection of patients suitable for irradiated blood transfusion.