Transfusiology section

Blood and blood components are collected at the transfusiology department. Transfusion preparations and plasma used for transfusion therapy and pharmaceutical processing are prepared here. Transfusion preparations are irradiated with ionising radiation (prevention of post-transfusion GVHD). Furthermore, hematopoietic stem cell grafts for autologous and allogeneic transplantation are prepared and processed here. Apheresis therapeutic procedures such as exchange plasmapheresis, exchange erythrocytapheresis, leukocyte, erythrocyte and platelet depletion, extracorporeal photochemotherapy and IgG immunoadsorption are performed on patients.

The Department of Transfusiology has the National Reference Laboratory for Immunohematology and the Cord Blood Bank of the Czech Republic (BPK ČR).

The Transfusiology Department has the following collaborating departments:

• Apheresis Department
• Transfusion Department
• Imunohematology
• Department of Cell Therapy
• Sampling laboratory
• Laboratory for the Prevention of Viral Infections

The Transfusiology Department is the administrator of the National Transfusion Service Registers:

• Register of persons excluded from donation (from 4 December 2023 it will be transferred to the NROVDK)
• Register of donors of rare blood groups
• maintains the Register of HLA and HPA typed donors

Collaborating organisations:

• SCARF International Rare Red Cell Exchange Group
• WAA (World Apheresis Association) - international registry for therapeutic hemapheresis
• International Blood Group Reference Laboratory in Bristol
• BloodGen International Consortium
• Czech Hematopoietic Cell Donor Registry IKEM
• I. and II. internal clinic and Neurological clinic of VFN
• 1st and 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague
• transfusion departments in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Employees of the Transfusiology Department participate in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching of transfusion medicine. Teaching also covers donor and therapeutic procedures performed by haemapheresis technique and preparation of haematopoietic stem cells for transplantation and cell therapy.

Undergraduate activities are focused on teaching students of IV. To VI. Year 1. LF Charles University in Prague. Teaching is carried out within the framework of the Institute of Cell Culture of the 1st Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Human Cancer Research and IPVZ. Seminars are regularly organized at the Transfusiology Department.

The Transfusiology Department is regularly inspected by the State Institute for Drug Control (SÚKL). The laboratories of the Transfusiology Department have been accredited by the ČIA (Czech Institute for Accreditation, o.p.s.)