Hot Topic: Strategies to Reduce the Risk of TRALI
Program Code: 5120-TC
Sunday, October 22, 2006
10:30 AM to 12:00 PM (ET)

MODERATOR
Jerry Gottschall MD, MD

SPEAKERS
Richard Benjamin, MD, PhD, American Red Cross
Lorna Williamson, BSc, MD, FRCP, FRCPath, National Blood Service/University of Cambridge
Steve Kleinman, MD, AABB

DESCRIPTION
Transfusion related acute lung injury (TRALI) is the leading cause of reported transfusion related fatality in the US. Our ability to implement policies to protect patients has been hampered by an incomplete understanding of TRALI's etiology, incidence or risk factors. The availability of a consensus case definition and a growing acceptance of the multifactorial etiology of TRALI are now complemented by preliminary data from the United Kingdom on the efficacy of the preferential use of male plasma. This session will review the decision making process for implementing or not implementing strategies to reduce TRALI in the absence of definitive data and the current practicality of only partial solutions.