Abstract
A 78-year-old man with obstruction of the right common femoral artery due to arteriosclerosis obliterans underwent successful amputation of his leg. On the first postoperative day he received transfusion of three units of preserved blood. He continued to recover until postoperative day 7, when he developed a high fever, erythroderma and diarrhea. His condition gradually deteriorated and on postoperative day 15 he demonstrated severe and progressive leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. Although he underwent intensive treatment he died on postoperative day 20. A skin biopsy specimen revealed evidence of post-transfusion graft-versus-host disease.
