[MOS] Special Seminar: Prof. Saul Yedgar - Feb. 5th, 3pm, 6-104 (Chipman Room)

[Ming Dao]

Dear all, you're welcome to the following special seminar:

 

Monitoring the Hemodynamic Functionality of Transfused Red Blood Cells for
Improving Transfusion Outcome and Personalized Transfusion

 

Prof. Saul Yedgar

Dept. of Biochemistry, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem,
Israel

 

February 5 (Wed) at 3-4 pm in 6-104 (Chipman Room)

 

Background: Red blood cells (RBC) have unique flow-affecting properties that
are major determinants of blood flow, and define their hemodynamic
functionality (HF), i.e. their potential to affect the blood circulation and
the vascular system, especially in small blood vessels. These include
primarily RBC deformability, adherence to vascular endothelial cells, and
self-aggregability. Normally, RBC are sufficiently deformable, and their
adherence and aggregation is insignificant, but in numerous pathological
conditions RBC with impaired HF, especially reduced deformability and
elevated adherence, are formed. These can impair blood circulation and lead
to vascular occlusion and infarct.

Focus on blood transfusion: Blood transfusion is a universal treatment aimed
at increasing tissue oxygenation by the supply of red blood cells (RBC).
However, in recent years, there is a growing concern about the safety and
effectiveness of blood transfusion, following many studies showing that
blood transfusion caused damage rather than benefit. The cause of this
phenomenon is unclear. Using an original image analysis, we have found, for
the first time in humans, that the transfusion effectiveness (expressed by
the increase in the recipients' hemoglobin and blood circulation) strongly
depends on the HF of the transfused RBC, and on the difference in HF between
of transfused RBC and the recipients' RBC.

These results demonstrate that RBC HF plays a key role in transfusion
outcome, and its assessment can be used for personalized transfusion, by
selecting patient-specific blood units according to the HF of the transfused
RBC vs. that of the recipient's RBC.

The current blood-banking practice focuses exclusively on testing
immunological compatibility and infectious agents on donation day, and blood
units are supplied primarily according to the first-in-first-out (FIFO)
criteria. Our studies show that the FIFO criterion is not sufficient to
ensure safe and effective blood transfusion. The assessment of transfused
RBC HF, in reference to the RBC HF and clinical conditions of the recipient,
provides an essential, powerful tool for improving transfusion therapy.

Of particular interest are premature neonates (PN). PN often suffer from
neonate-specific microcirculatory pathologies (PNP). About 50% of PN are
treated with transfusion of adults' RBC, which is  known to contribute to
the provocation of PNP development. Using our image analysis, we have found
that: 1. The HF of RBC of healthy PN is considerably superior to that of
adults' RBC, while the opposite was observed with PN that developed PNP.
Therefore, the transfusion of adult's RBC to PN introduces risk to PN
recipients. 2. The HF of cord blood RBC is compatible with that of the
autologous PN (thereby superior to adults' RBC).These findings present the
need for neonate-specific cord blood bank, containing units of cord blood
RBC with hemodynamic functionality suitable for transfusion to premature
newborns.

 

Biography

Saul Yedgar, PhD, is a Professor of Biochemistry at The Hebrew University
Faculty of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel, heading a world-leading lab in
studying RBC flow-affecting properties in health and disease. SY serves as a
member in editorial boards of international journals and committees/boards
of international scientific societies. 

 

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