Here’s what I don’t understand: There are 8 blood types and only 1 or 2 of them are rare. So finding a match shouldn’t be difficult. In fact, isn’t it likely that one of the baby’s parents are a match? And aren’t patients generally allowed to bank their own blood before an operation? Would it be that much of a stretch for one of th…
Here’s what I don’t understand: There are 8 blood types and only 1 or 2 of them are rare. So finding a match shouldn’t be difficult. In fact, isn’t it likely that one of the baby’s parents are a match? And aren’t patients generally allowed to bank their own blood before an operation? Would it be that much of a stretch for one of the baby’s parents or relatives to donate the blood needed? I understand why a blood bank wouldn’t want to create precedents of this sort, but blood from a known donor is always safer than blood from an anonymous donor.
There is actually a higher risk of developing Graft vs Host disease (deadly if not mitigated appropriately) from a related donor than an unrelated donor. There are hundreds of other antigens on RBCs than just ABORh. 50% of Baby Will's antigens come from each parent, so there is a high likelihood he would have mismatches from either parent. The risk of GVH can be mitigated by treating the blood with radiation to render the remaining donor lymphocytes (in the transfused blood) unable to replicate inside the new "foreign" home ie: baby Will. And ALL blood donations are tested for the same transfusion transmitted diseases, whether the blood is from a directed (known) donor or from the voluntarily donated blood from the community. Just a little blood bank FYI from a BB nerd, but I appreciate your thoughtful questions! :)
I just found this on " graft vs host disease"... please explain in terms of your comment that "there is a higher risk from related vs unrelated".... I would think the parents should be able to match better than a foreigner.
Doctors try to avoid GvHD by genetically "matching" donors to recipients, often by recruiting a sibling or other family member with a similar genetic makeup.
Hello Susan. The article you referenced is correct when selecting a donor for STEM CELL transplantation to replace a diseased bone marrow. The easiest pool to find a match from is siblings because they share the same parents. However, irradiation can't be used in Stem Cell transplants to prevent GVH disease because it would prevent the stem cells from being able to replicate themselves in their new bone marrow home, which is the purpose of stem cell transplants for blood cancers like Lymphoma. This is different than transfusions of RBCs, which are used to replace blood lost in surgery, trauma or during chemotherapy. Parents may be a match for ABORh blood types with their children, but may be a big mismatch for other antigens displayed on White Blood cells (immune system cells) which are still present at low levels in Red Blood cell products. So the difference is the type of cellular blood product being used (RBCs vs Stem cells), how closely the donor needs to be matched to the antigens present on the recipient's cell and whether GVH disease can be mitigated by irradiation. Hope this helps. Please feel free to ask further questions if this isn't clear from my explanation. And I'm sure I included TMI, but I enjoy sharing my nerdiness with others. Thanks!
Dr. K,
Here’s what I don’t understand: There are 8 blood types and only 1 or 2 of them are rare. So finding a match shouldn’t be difficult. In fact, isn’t it likely that one of the baby’s parents are a match? And aren’t patients generally allowed to bank their own blood before an operation? Would it be that much of a stretch for one of the baby’s parents or relatives to donate the blood needed? I understand why a blood bank wouldn’t want to create precedents of this sort, but blood from a known donor is always safer than blood from an anonymous donor.
There is actually a higher risk of developing Graft vs Host disease (deadly if not mitigated appropriately) from a related donor than an unrelated donor. There are hundreds of other antigens on RBCs than just ABORh. 50% of Baby Will's antigens come from each parent, so there is a high likelihood he would have mismatches from either parent. The risk of GVH can be mitigated by treating the blood with radiation to render the remaining donor lymphocytes (in the transfused blood) unable to replicate inside the new "foreign" home ie: baby Will. And ALL blood donations are tested for the same transfusion transmitted diseases, whether the blood is from a directed (known) donor or from the voluntarily donated blood from the community. Just a little blood bank FYI from a BB nerd, but I appreciate your thoughtful questions! :)
https://www.verywellhealth.com/graft-vs-host-disease-overview-5077111?utm_campaign=15823081179-bc16abb1234b67&utm_source=googleawpaid&utm_medium=con&utm_content=573641057935&utm_term=g-graft%20vs%20host&gclid=CjwKCAiAp7GcBhA0EiwA9U0mtvDUk_2Wu6_BCRElC6OM7F96ZJ1uSY2kWuLOfl4ZNcfEUAtgMXdqSRoCtdoQAvD_BwE.
I just found this on " graft vs host disease"... please explain in terms of your comment that "there is a higher risk from related vs unrelated".... I would think the parents should be able to match better than a foreigner.
Doctors try to avoid GvHD by genetically "matching" donors to recipients, often by recruiting a sibling or other family member with a similar genetic makeup.
Hello Susan. The article you referenced is correct when selecting a donor for STEM CELL transplantation to replace a diseased bone marrow. The easiest pool to find a match from is siblings because they share the same parents. However, irradiation can't be used in Stem Cell transplants to prevent GVH disease because it would prevent the stem cells from being able to replicate themselves in their new bone marrow home, which is the purpose of stem cell transplants for blood cancers like Lymphoma. This is different than transfusions of RBCs, which are used to replace blood lost in surgery, trauma or during chemotherapy. Parents may be a match for ABORh blood types with their children, but may be a big mismatch for other antigens displayed on White Blood cells (immune system cells) which are still present at low levels in Red Blood cell products. So the difference is the type of cellular blood product being used (RBCs vs Stem cells), how closely the donor needs to be matched to the antigens present on the recipient's cell and whether GVH disease can be mitigated by irradiation. Hope this helps. Please feel free to ask further questions if this isn't clear from my explanation. And I'm sure I included TMI, but I enjoy sharing my nerdiness with others. Thanks!