Thread: CMV Negative?
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Old Sat Dec 15, 2012, 05:36 PM
Marrowforums Marrowforums is offline
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Norma,

I'm not an expert either, but I read a lot. From what I've read, irradiation alone doesn't prevent CMV infections.

An old article from MD Anderson discusses two other approaches that are apparently more effective:
  1. Blood products from CMV negative donors. This produces the least risk of a CMV infection. The problem is that it may be hard for the blood bank to maintain a supply since so many donors are CMV positive. It's also possible for blood recipients to develop antibodies that further limit their donor pool.

  2. Leukocyte-reduced blood. The leukodepletion filtering process eliminates most CMV risk. You'll want to know that the blood bank tests each unit for successful leukodepletion.
The report concludes that relying on CMV negative donors (choice #1) should be reserved for high-risk patients, such as transplant patients. I think that includes patients who might be considered for transplant in the future. It may be a matter of treatment center or blood bank policies.

In any case, the article isn't recent, so I think it would be worth talking directly to the blood bank at the treatment center for the latest they can tell you. I think the first question is whether Yashar is receiving or should receive leukocyte-reduced blood for his transfusions. If so, ask if they test each unit and make sure that the doctor is ordering leukocyte-reduced blood. This should address the CMV concern.

If Yashar doesn't/won't get leukocyte-reduced blood then I'd ask the blood bank and/or the doctor if there's any reason not to limit his transfusions to CMV-negative blood. Without a good reason not to, I'd insist on getting only CMV-negative blood.

Here is another forum site where the question came up.
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