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Why are immunocompromised patients at risk for graft-versus-host disease after a transfusion?

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Blood transfusion — blood transfusion Depiction of a direct blood transfusion performed in 1882.

Immunocompromised patients are at risk for transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) because their immune systems are unable to recognize and eliminate donor lymphocytes present in the transfused blood.1

In a healthy individual, the immune system would typically identify these foreign donor cells and destroy them. However, in an immunocompromised recipient, the transfused donor lymphocytes are able to survive and proliferate. Once these donor cells multiply, they begin to attack the recipient's own tissues, specifically targeting the liver, skin, and gastrointestinal tract.1

This life-threatening complication can be prevented through the irradiation of blood components, which uses X-rays to inhibit the ability of the donor leukocytes to reproduce.1