Re: Blood Irradiation??

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

> Why are people irradiating blood?

It cuts down on the possibility of rejection (graft vs host disease)

> What is the cell damage / kill rate with dose? 

Other people have said that the doses is in the 15-25 Gy range.  That should 
totally knock out the stem cells and the mature lymphocytes populations, and 
leave the red cells and platelets untouched.

Radbio 101:  Stem cells are far more radiosensitive thandifferentiated non-
dividing cells, with the exception of the mature lymphocyte which is very 
radiosensitive despite the fact that it is differentiated and non-dividing.

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