Current Status of Irradiated Blood Components and Blood Irradiators in Korean Medical Institutes

Kim, Jaehyun; Seo, Jong Hyun; Choi, Kyoung Young; Cho, Nam Sun; Kwon, So Young; Park, Soo Jin; Oh, Deok Ja

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Gamma or X-ray irradiation of blood components is used to prevent transfusion associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GVHD). In this study, we assessed the current status of irradiated blood components and blood irradiators in Korean medical institutes.
METHODS
We surveyed 306 medical institutes in Korea by a questionnaire, between August 2015 and October 2015. Institutions were asked to answer 9~16 questions, including whether they had facilities for irradiation of blood, type of irradiators used, dose of irradiation used, and if they did not have irradiation facilities, they were asked whether their blood components were irradiated.
RESULTS
One-hundred and ninety-seven (64.4%) out of 306 questionnaires were returned and analyzed: 96 institutions provide irradiated blood, and 101 institutions do not use irradiated blood components. Forty-eight institutions have on site facilities with gamma blood irradiator for the irradiation of blood components and uses a dose of 20 to 50 Gy. Of the 48 institutions without facilities that use irradiated blood components, 38 (79.2%) have their blood components by referral to Korean Red Cross Blood Centers and 9 (18.8%) refer to other medical institutes for their irradiation needs. The survey showed that there is lot of regional variation in the supply and demand of irradiated blood components in Korea.
CONCLUSION
Our survey does suggest that the establishment of the supply system for irradiated blood component by nation-wide blood establishments may provide national nuclear safety and stability of irradiated blood supply. It may also alleviate some regional disparity for the transfusion service of irradiated blood in Korea.