ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Leukoreduced blood components are recommended for prevention of non-hemolytic febrile transfusion reactions, HLA alloimmunization, platelet transfusion refractoriness, and transfusion-transmissible diseases. In addition, prestorage leukoreduction may be advantageous to poststorage leukoreduction. The authors investigated the current status of usage of leukoreduced blood components in Korea. METHODS: We surveyed 2,373 medical facilities, where blood components were supplied from Korean Red Cross blood centers and/or Hanmaeum blood center during one year period between January and December 2009. The survey was conducted about the current situation of usage of leukoreduction by web-based program (http://bms.cdc.go.kr), and 743 facilities answered and were analyzed. RESULTS: The leukoreduced RBC components comprised 10.3% (prestorage leukoreduction, 91,066 units, 5.7%; poststorage leukoreduction 73,192 units, 4.6%) of the total 1,593,098 units of RBC components used in 743 medical facilities. The leukoreduced platelet concentrates comprised 33.1% (458,552 units) of the total 1,386,184 units of platelet concentrates used in 397 medical facilities. If 1 single donor platelet is counted as 6 platelet concentrates, 48.9% of the total platelet components used were leukoreduced. CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of leukoreduced blood components to the total blood components used in Korea was much lower than that in Unites States of America, especially lower in the use of prestorage leukoreduction of RBC components. Further studies are required for cost-effectiveness and demand-supply amounts of leukoreduced blood components, and appropriate prestorage leukoreduction has to be performed in Korea based on these studies.