Transfusion Department

At the transfusiology unit workplaces, blood collections and their components are performed. Transfusion preparations and plasma are prepared here, which are used for transfusion therapy and for pharmaceutical processing. Transfusion preparations are irradiated with ionizing radiation (prevention of post-transfusion GVHD). Furthermore, stem cell hematopoietic cell grafts are prepared and processed here for autologous and allogeneic transplantation. In patients, apheretic therapeutic procedures are performed such as plasma exchange, erythrocyte exchange, leukocyte depletion, erythrocyte and platelet depletion, extracorporeal photochemotherapy and IgG immunoadsorption.

The National Reference Laboratory for Immunohematology operates at the Transfusiology Department.

The Transfusiology Unit has these cooperating departments:

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

The Transfusiology Unit is the administrator of the National Registries of Transfusion Service:

• Register of persons excluded from donation (as of 4 December 2023 transitions to NROVDK)
• Register of donors with rare blood groups
• maintains the Register of HLA and HPA typed donors

Cooperating organizations: 

• international SCARF group for exchange of rare erythrocytes
• WAA (World Apheresis Association) – international register for therapeutic hemapheresis
• International Blood Group Reference Laboratory in Bristol
• international BloodGen consortium
• Czech Register of Hematopoietic Cell Donors IKEM
• 1st and 2nd Internal Clinic and Neurology Clinic of Charles University Hospital
• 1st and 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague
• transfusion departments in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Staff of the Transfusiology Unit participate in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching of transfusion medicine. The teaching also covers donor and therapeutic procedures performed using hemapheresis technique and the preparation of stem cell hematopoietic cells for transplantation and cell therapy.

Undergraduate activity is focused on teaching students of the 4th to 6th year of the 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague. Teaching takes place within the framework of ÚKEH of the 1st Faculty of Medicine, IHBT and IPVZ. Seminars are regularly held at the Transfusiology Unit.

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