GRANULOCYTE TRANSFUSIONS - TIME FOR A 2ND LOOK

Among the available therapies to support neutropenic patients with inf ection, granulocyte transfusions have generated considerable controver sy. Plagued by the inconvenience of harvesting cells, infusion-associa ted toxicity, and marginal efficacy, granulocyte transfusions, once in vogue in the 1980s, had been relegated to a secondary role. Several r ecent developments, however, have given new impetus to re-evaluating t he role of granulocyte transfusions. The two most notable reasons incl ude the ability to increase the number of circulating granulocytes in the donor by treatment with one or two doses of recombinant hematopoie tic growth factors, such as granulocyte- and granulocyte-macrophage co lony stimulating factor, and improvements in the efficiency of the col lection process. Armed with these advances, it is an appropriate time to review the existing data and consider studies designed to determine the appropriate role of granulocyte transfusions in neutropenic hosts .