Infection?

On various medical shows, they have shown circumstances where a person's
white blood cell count drops below the point at which they can fight infection,
whether because of some disease or because of radiation or whatever. My
question is: Why can't they just repeatedly transfuse white blood cells to
fight the infection, just like they transfuse platelets or red blood cells?

Nemesio

I guess it's because the body would reject those white blood cells, but I'm not sure.

Originally posted by Nemesio
On various medical shows, they have shown circumstances where a person's
white blood cell count drops below the point at which they can fight infection,
whether because of some disease or because of radiation or whatever. My
question is: Why can't they just repeatedly transfuse white blood cells to
fight the infection, just like they transfuse platelets or red blood cells?

Nemesio

As far as I am aware, they can. White blood cell transfusions are rare by comparison to red blood cell / platelets, but they are used for patients with immunosuppression who have severe infections that are antibiotic resistant.

Originally posted by Policestate
As far as I am aware, they can. White blood cell transfusions are rare by comparison to red blood cell / platelets, but they are used for patients with immunosuppression who have severe infections that are antibiotic resistant.

Was beginning to doubt myself for a moment then, but the following is a link on the first results page of a google search.

http://www.mcghealth.org/Greystonedata/CONTENT.ASP?PAGEID=P00106