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Background: Alloimmunization is an immune response against foreign antigens which introduced into the body through transfusion, pregnancy, or transplantation. This phenomenon is a big challenge in patients, which require regular transfusions. In the current study, we tried to have a comprehensive review on the status of alloimmunization in Iran. For this purpose, we searched for papers investigating alloimmunization in transfusion-dependent patients and also in patients with no regular transfusions who are candidate for surgery or who need blood. Methods: We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, SID, and MAGIRAN databases using the following keywords: “blood transfusion,” “alloimmunization,” “alloantibodies,” “irregular antibodies,” “red cell antibodies,” and “Iran.” No limitation for the date of publication and language of the papers was defined. All the identified records were then screened for the relevance and duplication. Results: A total of 22 papers were included in this study. All of the studies were conducted from 1999 to 2016 and providing alloimmunization data from different cities all over of Iran. In general, the results showed that the most prevalent alloantibodies are anti-Kell (anti-K antigen) and anti-Rh system, mainly anti-E, anti-D, anti-C, and anti-c. Conclusion: Anti-Kell and anti-Rh antibodies are the most prevalent antibodies responsible for alloimmunization in Iranian population.

Background and Objectives: With no proven treatment guidelines for COVID-19, human convalescent plasma is an option and has been under trial worldwide. In India, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), started a Mulicentric Trial for the use of convalescent plasma in the treatment of COVID patients. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the challenges encountered in the collection of convalescent plasma from COVID recovered patients at a trial site. Methods: The current prospective study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital based blood centre catering to COVID patients and a trial site for Plasma therapy by ICMR. For analysing the challenges in the collection of convalescent plasma, the discharged patients were contacted telephonically. After applying eligibility criteria, the reasons of deferral were assessed. Data was collected and analysed. Results: The current prospective study was carried out during the period of 1st April 2020 to 15th May 2020. During this period, a total of 496 patients got discharged. After applying deferral criteria, 113 were eligible, out of which only 13 (11.5%) consented to come to donate plasma. Conclusion: In a global ongoing pandemic, the “Fear Factor” is a constraint and a major challenge to motivate and convince a COVID recovered patient for plasma donation. The challenge for the medical professionals is to motivate, convince and educate the potential donors and society about the likely benefits of COVID Convalescent Plasma.

Transfusion related acute lung injury (TRALI) has become a major reported cause of severe transfusion reactions and mortality. Over the past four years significant changes have been taken in Canada in order both to improve the recognition of the risk and to decrease its incidence. An international meeting was held in April of 2004 entitled "Towards an Understanding of TRALI". As a result of the analysis and recommendations from this meeting, the Canadian Blood Services established an ongoing review committee and established a laboratory diagnostic facility to identify at risk donors and recipients. A system has been developed to identify implicated donors and exclude them from the blood donor pool. Other steps have been taken to exclude potentially high risk donors, such as previously pregnant females, from the plasma and platelet donor pool. A considerable amount of education also has been offered to clinical services in the country. This paper summarizes the definitions, categorizations of implicated donors, and the ongoing precautionary activities related to plasma products. Noted within the article are the methods used for locating and selecting data. These were primarily based on the international TRALI conference in 2004, and from ongoing discussions and information provided by the Canadian Blood Services TRALI Review Committee. No ethics referral or approval was requested, and a summary is included in the article.