Blood transfusion in clinical medicine

ABSTRACT

In the first edition of this book, published more than 40 years ago, the emphasis was very heavily on the transfusion of red cells; a good deal was known about their survival in vivo, their behaviour during storage and their immunology. In contrast, at that time, no attempts were being made to transfuse leucocytes or platelets, no leucocyte or platelet antigens had been described and no plasma fractions were available. The only diseases known to be transmitted by transfusion were hepatitis, for the infectious agents of which no tests were available, and syphilis and malaria; only four pages were devoted to the subject in a general chapter on the ill effects of transfusion. The developments since then are reflected in the changed contents of the present edition. The immunology of leucocytes and platelets is considered in detail, as are therapeutic aspects of transfusions of leucocytes, platelets and plasma fractions. The longest chapter in the book is now that devoted to infectious agents transmitted by transfusion. At the same time, since the book has always tried to give a thorough account of the transfusion and immunology of red cells these topics are still given a good deal of space. We have, in general, used SI units, although in referring to published work we have sometimes kept to the units used in the original publication; when the relation between old and new units is not obvious we have given the SI equivalent in parentheses. The measining of abbreviations is explained on the first occasion on which they are used and can be discovered by consulting the index. The order of the chapters has been slightly changed so as to bring together those chapters dealing predominantly with red cells and those dealing mainly with leucocytes, platelets and plasma