Adenovirus and Epstein-Barr virus can cause significant morbidity and mortality in paediatric patients post-bone marrow transplant. The source of infection is thought to be either reactivation of latent viruses or primary infection. We have investigated whether transfusion of blood components from viraemic donors could provide a route of primary infection in these patients and sought the prevalence of viraemia in the blood donor population from England. In 32 linked donor/recipient samples and 300 unselected blood donors, we found no evidence to suggest that these infections in paediatric bone marrow transplant recipients had been acquired from transfused blood components.
Keywords: blood safety; bone marrow; transfusion - paediatric; transfusion - transmissible infections; transplantation.
© 2015 International Society of Blood Transfusion.