RE: Irradiators Use in Blood Bank

["Carolan, Martin" <CarolanM@iahs.nsw.gov.au>]

I think this topic may have been covered more extensively a few moths ago on
this list. 

> 
> How do blood banks utilize irradiators? Thanks. M. Jo
> ========================================================
> Myung Chul Jo, MS, CHP

The general idea is to irradiate blood or blood components that have been
given by donors (usually to about 30Gy). This is done in order to destroy
any white cells in the donated blood that may mount an immune response
against the recipient of the blood (known as graft versus host disease or
GVHD). It is particulary important where the recipients immune system is
compromised for some reason (eg chemotherapy etc).

Martin Carolan
Senior Physicist
Department of Nuclear Medicine
Wollongong Hospital
Wollongong NSW 2500
Australia
email carolanm@iahs.nsw.gov.au <mailto:carolanm@iahs.nsw.gov.au> 
phone 61 2 4222 5224
fax 61 2 4222 5238
internal page # 252.
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*********IMPORTANT NOTICE**********

The information contained within this e-mail message should be considered 
as confidential and/or privileged.  It is intended solely for use by the 
addressee named above.

If you have received this message in error you are hereby notified that you 
must not copy, duplicate, forward, print or otherwise disseminate any 
information contained within this E-Mail.  Please ensure that this e-mail 
is deleted and please send a message to the postmaster at the
Illawarra Area Health Service via mailto:

POSTMASTER@iahs.nsw.gov.au.

This message has been scanned for Viruses!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html