High Institute for Education and Research in Transfusion Medicine

Engineering CAR-NK cell platforms for breast cancer: metastatic interception, perioperative control, and emerging platelet-guided biomimetic strategies

Breast cancer metastasis remains the leading cause of disease-related mortality, highlighting the need for strategies that can intercept circulating tumor cells, suppress micrometastatic outgrowth, and eliminate residual disease during the perioperative window. Although CAR-T cel...

Platelet–NK cell interplay in advanced coronary artery disease is associated with pre-exhausted NK cell dysfunction without upregulation of the immune checkpoint receptor NKG2A

Platelet crosstalk with leukocytes plays a key role in the development of atherosclerosis. However, different immune cells are involved in the disease’s pathology, with Tregs showing protective effects against atherosclerosis, whereas NK cells appear to contribute to both atherog...

Beyond anemia: gendered social and structural determinants of women’s blood donation in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a scoping review

Background Women are markedly underrepresented among blood donors in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), where they account for a median of only about 6% of donations despite contributing nearly one-third of donations globally. Conventional explanations emphasize biomedical a...

Managing pregnancy in women with the Rh‐null phenotype: A structured narrative review of alloimmunisation, maternal–fetal outcomes and transfusion management

The Rh-null phenotype is the rarest known red blood cell phenotype and is characterised by the complete absence of Rh antigens. During pregnancy, women with the Rh-null phenotype face unique challenges related to alloimmunisation against high-prevalence Rh antigens, haemolytic di...

Platelet–neutrophil cooperation in premetastatic niche formation: from NETosis and stromal conditioning to nanotherapeutic interception

Metastasis remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality, yet the metastatic cascade is initiated long before circulating tumor cells reach distant organs. Central to this early phase is the premetastatic niche (PMN), a dynamic and tumor-conditioned microenvironment in wh...