Transfusion Management of Some Common Heritable Blood Disorders

This new publication addresses the transfusion management of patients with haemophilia A, haemophilia B, von Willebrand's disease, thalassemia and sickle cell disease. The definition of these disorders and approaches to their diagnosis are reviewed. The clinical manifestations, treatment and blood bank considerations for patients with primary and secondary haemochromatosis (iron overload) are described. Strategies for the management of patients with allo-and auto-antibodies to Factor VIII are covered. The main focus is the therapy for these patient groups with emphasis placed on the cost, efficacy and safety of the various treatment modalities. It also covers the potential application of bone marrow transplantation and gene therapy for these technically challenging and chronically transfused patient populations.