Susan Roseff, MD, Medical Director, Transfusion Medicine, Department of Pathology, VCU, presented an intriguing lecture during Grand Rounds Friday November 19, entitled, "Death by Transfusion." The following abstract summarizes her presentation and educational objectives.

The nation's blood supply has become safer over the last 20 years, with the risks of transfusion transmitted HIV and HCV significantly reduced.  This presentation focuses on the three leading causes of death due to transfusion; acute hemolytic transfusion reactions due to ABO incompatibility, sepsis due to bacterial contamination of blood products, and transfusion related acute lung injury.   The primary educational objectives are:

• To understand strides made in reducing the risk of transfusion transmitted HIV and HCV.
• To understand the current risks of acute hemolytic transfusion reactions and to learn about prevention strategies.
• To learn about efforts to reduce the risk of bacterial contamination of platelet products.
• To understand the pathophysiology of transfusion related acute lung injury (TRALI).

To view Dr. Roseff's presentation, click the following icon:

Portable Document Format (PDF - requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
**Please note this is a large file which may take a few minutes to download.

For more information, contact Dr. Roseff at (804) 828-0255 or sdroseff@vcu.edu.