leukoreduction

Leukoreduction or leukocyte reduction is the process of removing or reducing the number of white blood cells (or leukocytes) from the blood or blood components supplied for blood transfusion. After the removal of the leukocytes, the blood product is said to be leukoreduced. == Benefits and costs == It is theorized that transfusions that contain white blood cells may cause adverse effects through multiple mechanisms. White blood cells may themselves harbor infectious disease and some pathogens will be more concentrated in white blood cells than the rest of the blood product. It is also theorized that the donor white blood cells may suppress the recipient's immune system by interacting with it.

An April 2007 meta-analysis by Dr. Neil Blumberg and others and covering 3093 patients who received leukoreduced blood was published in the scientific journal Transfusion. According to the meta-analysis, use of leukoreduced blood reduced the frequency of post-transfusion infection by 50%. In a previous study, Blumberg and others reported that a change to universal use of leukoreduced blood at Strong Memorial Hospital at University of Rochester reduced post-transfusion infection by 33-45%.