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Infection?

Infection?

Science

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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

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

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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.

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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