[Blood transfusion therapy at the Military Medicine Academy--present possibilities].

: Blood component therapy refers to the transfusion of the specific part of blood that a patient needs, as opposed to the routine transfusion of whole blood (WB) in the past. This not only maintains blood resources, but also provides the optimal method of transfusing patients who require large amounts of a specific blood component. Since this concept have been accepted, the Institute of Transfusiology of Military Medical Academy (MMA) possess appropriate equipment for blood collection and processing of WB in components. Mainly, all kind (except frozen) of packed red cells (RBCs), platelet concentrates (random-donor buffy coat or apheresis donation), single-donor (apheresis) or random-donor (buffy coats) granulocytes, fresh frozen plasma (FFP), single-donor cryoprecipitate are prepared. Recently, fibrin glue (obtained by recycled cryoprecipitation from single-donor or autologous plasma), and some of new generation of blood components: hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (fresh or cryopreserved), collected from bone marrow or harvested from peripheral blood after mobilization and donor-specific mononuclear cells for cell therapy, i.e. immunomodulation during relapse of leukemia after bone marrow transplantation, have become the routine. Analysis of blood component therapy done at the MMA during the past 11 years (1989-1999) showed that: a) participation of WB transfusion in the group of surgical clinics was permanently decreased (from 59.60% in 1989 to 0.37% in 1999); b) WB transfusion (in the last few years) practically was not used in the group of internal medicine clinics (0.82% in 1993 and 0.45% in 1999); c) overall WB transfusion in MMA is extremely rare (0.37%).