Hematological support of a cancer patient.

Transfusion medicine has come to function as a pivotal support in the treatment of cancer patients in the late 1980s. The authors of this article discuss the indications for, and uses of, various blood components, including packed red blood cells, leukocyte-poor and/or washed blood cells, random donor and single donor platelets, granulocyte concentrates, fresh frozen plasma, and cryoprecipitate. They also discuss common and not-so-common risks, reactions, and diseases associated with the transfusion of the aforementioned blood components.