Transfusion-Associated Graft-versus-Host Disease

Abstract

Graft-versus-host disease is commonly observed after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation but rarely recognized after transfusion or solid-organ transplantation.^{1 2 3} Transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease can occur in immunosuppressed recipients (e.g., in infants with congenital immunodeficiency syndromes and bone marrow-transplant recipients); there are also recent reports of graft-versus-host disease in immunocompetent transplant recipients.^{4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11} The chief clinical manifestations of graft-versus-host disease are fever and skin rash, which usually begins as a central erythematous, maculopapular eruption, spreads to the extremities, and may progress in severe cases to generalized erythroderma and the formation of bullae. Other manifestations include anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and watery or bloody diarrhea, with . . .