The Korean government previously established a national blood policy and national blood system based on basic and essential legislation. This achievement was the result of collaborative efforts between the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Korean Society of Blood Transfusion, the Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine, the Laboratory Medicine Foundation, and/or the Korean Association of External Quality Assessment Service. To ensure a safe and effective transfusion, a comprehensive quality assurance (QA) system to assess every process from donor selection to transfusion is mandatory. From a blood safety perspective, selection of appropriate donor blood screening tests for transfusion-transmissible infections (TTI) and the QA program is of great importance. In this article, we review legislation regarding the national blood policy and national blood system as well as the selection logic regarding diagnostic immunologic tests for TTI and quality assurance efforts for TTI of each blood center.
Blood Safety ; Blood Transfusion ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Donor Selection ; Humans ; Immunologic Tests* ; Logic ; Mass Screening* ; Quality Control ; Tissue Donors

BACKGROUND: Fas is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)/nerve growth factor (NGF) receptor family. Triggering of the Fas receptor pathway by its ligand results in apoptosis. Soluble Fas consists of the extracellular region of Fas receptor and it binds to Fas ligand to inhibit the Fas and Fas ligand induced apoptosis. Recently some evidence indicates that the Fas/Fas ligand system represents an important pathway responsible for the induction of apoptosis in bone marrow CD34+ cells of patients with aplastic anemia. METHODS: We measured serum soluble Fas levels in 27 patients with aplastic anemia at diagnosis using ELISA to define the status of soluble Fas in this disorder. RESULTS: Levels of serum soluble Fas in patients with aplastic anemia were lower com-pared with that of normal healthy controls. No difference was noted in the serum soluble Fas levels according to severity of disease. No correlation was found between serum soluble Fas levels and hematologic parameters at diagnosis such as neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, platelet count and corrected reticulocyte count. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that serum soluble Fas levels are decreased in patients with aplastic anemia. Further studies recruiting more patients and measuring Fas receptor on peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets and bone marrow CD34+ cells concomitantly may be helpful to determine pathophysiology of bone marrow failure.
Anemia, Aplastic* ; Antigens, CD95 ; Apoptosis ; Bone Marrow ; Diagnosis ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Fas Ligand Protein ; Humans ; Lymphocyte Count ; Lymphocyte Subsets ; Neutrophils ; Platelet Count ; Reticulocyte Count ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the relationships between endogenous estrogen levels and vascular risk factors in healthy men and women. METHODS: Demographics and laboratory data were collected from normotensive subjects (123 men and 154 women) in their thirties, forties and fifties who had normal laboratory profiles and no cardiovascular risk factors. Initially, estradiol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), NO2/NO3, homocysteine, and body mass index (BMI) were measured. Then, the relationships between estradiol and the evaluated items were analyzed with comparison of means and correlation, and stepwise multiple regression analysis based on genders and age-groups. RESULTS: Estradiol levels decreased with aging in women. Lower LDL and triglyceride, higher HDL levels, and lower SBP and DBP observed in women were correlated with decreasing age as well as increasing estradiol level. On the multivariate analysis, however, estradiol levels were negatively correlated with the changes in SBP, DBP, and triglyceride among the lipid variables. BMI was positively related with the increase of SBP and DBP and the estradiol levels. Although higher NO2/NO3 and lower homocysteine levels were observed in women than men, the NO2/NO3 and homocysteine levels had no significant correlation with estradiol changes. CONCLUSION: The study observed the beneficial relationships between endogenous estrogen, and blood pressures and lipids in healthy women. The estrogen-related benefits observed in this study were lower TG levels, SBP, and DBP in young women than those in older women or in men.
Aging ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Cholesterol ; Demography ; Estradiol ; Estrogens ; Female ; Homocysteine ; Humans ; Lipoproteins ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nitric Oxide ; Risk Factors ; Vascular Diseases

A full term male infant was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit due to jaundice and mild hemolytic anemia within the first 24 hours of his life. The total serum bilirubin level was 11.2 mg/dL at 24 hours of age. The patient was RhD positive and blood group A, and his mother was RhD positive and blood group B. The direct and indirect antiglobulin tests of the infant were all positive. On antibody screening and identification tests, anti-S antibodies were identified from both the infant and mother. The RBC phenotyping for S antigen revealed positive for infant and negative for mother. This report documents the first case of hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn due to the anti-S antibody in Korea.
Anemia, Hemolytic ; Antibodies ; Bilirubin ; Coombs Test ; Fetus* ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn* ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Jaundice ; Korea* ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Mothers

Primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the seminal vesicle is an extremely rare disorder, with only two cases reported in the English literature. Here, we present imaging findings of a case of primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the seminal vesicle. On transrectal ultrasonography, the mass presented as a 3.0-cm-sized heterogeneous, hypoechoic lesion in the right seminal vesicle. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a mass with rim-like enhancement in the right seminal vesicle. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the tumor showed iso-signal intensity on T1-weighted images and heterogeneously intermediate-high signal intensity on T2-weighted images. The tumor showed rim-like and progressive enhancement with non-enhancing portion on dynamic scanning. Diffusion restriction was observed in the mass. On fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) imaging, a high standardized uptake value (maxSUV, 23.5) by the tumor was noted exclusively in the right seminal vesicle.
B-Lymphocytes* ; Diffusion ; Electrons ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, B-Cell* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Seminal Vesicles* ; Ultrasonography