Blood Irradiation for Intraoperative Autotransfusion in Cancer Surgery – the View of Transfusion Medicine

Abstract

At present, it is uncertain whether intraoperative autotransfusion of irradiated shed blood in cancer surgery is advantageous for the patient compared to homologous blood transfusion. The answer to this question fundamentally depends on the respective figures for the risks of homologous blood. The remaining importance of transfusion-associated immunomodulation, which is of special interest in cancer surgery, is completely unclear after the introduction of prestorage leukodepletion of cellular blood components in Germany. The quality of intraoperatively salvaged and irradiated blood is superior to homologous as well as autologous red blood cell (RBC) concentrates or whole blood which have been stored for 1 week or longer. However, it is unclear whether this is of clinical relevance. Prospective, randomized clinical studies are needed to ascertain the promising benefits of intraoperative autotransfusion of irradiated shed blood in cancer surgery.