Blood Banking - Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD)

GVHD is a situation where transfused lymphocytes engraft and multiply in immunocompromised patients (e.g., bone marrow transplant patients). The newly engrafted lymphocytes attack the host. This is the opposite of a host rejecting a transplanted organ (e.g., a heart).

Transfusion-associated graft versus host disease (TAGVHD) is a different disease from GVHD in allogeneic bone marrow transplant recipients. TAGVHD is uniformly fatal and untreatable. It occurs when the blood products contain T-lymphocytes and attack many host tissues. It occurs when the recipient is immunocompromised

TAGHVD is prevented by gamma-irradiating the blood products to be transfused.