Re: Blood Irradiation

[John Moulder <jmoulder@post.its.mcw.edu>]

> I'm interested in learning more about how blood banks use irradiators 
> to  sterilize blood.  What are the types of irradiators in use and what 
> are the  doses involved.  I imagine that it would make sense to 
> irradiate plasma, but  not whole blood.  Can anyone out there provide 
> some references or a short  summary? 

For the most part blood is not irradiated to sterilize it, but to prevent  
post-transfusion graft-versus-host reactions in patients who have severely 
depressed immune systems.

The field is dominated by Cs-137 irradiators (the ones with built-in 
shielding), several of which are sold specifically for blood irradiation.  
The advantages are that the dose distributions are very uniform, very 
reproducible and very stable over time (about as idiot-proof as possible).  
The other advantage is that the units can be used in an unshielded room.

The doses I'd have to look up, so I'll give you some refs instead:
- Masterson ME, Febo R:Pretransfusion blood irradiation: clinical rationale 
and dosimetric considerations.  Medical Physics 19(3):649-57, 1992.
- Lewis MC, Blood irradiation: rationale and technique, Medical Dosimetry.  
15(3):119-20, 1990.

John Moulder (jmoulder@its.mcw.edu)
Radiation Biology Group
Medical College of Wisconsin